Energy Portfolio Assessment Tool (EPAT): Sustainable Energy Planning Using the WEF Nexus Approach - Texas Case Study
Abstract
The future energy portfolio at the national and subnational levels should consider its impact on water resources and environment. Although energy resources are the main contributors to the national economic growth, these resources must not exploit other primary natural resources. A study of the connections between energy and natural systems, such as water, environment and land, is required prior to proceeding to energy development. Policy makers are in need of a tool quantifying the interlinkages across energy, water and the environment, while demonstrating the consequent trade-offs across the nexus systems. The Energy Portfolio Assessment Tool (EPAT) is a tool enabling the user to create different energy portfolio scenarios with various energy and electricity sources, and evaluate the scenario’s sustainability environmentally and economically. The Water-Energy-Food nexus systematic approach is the foundation of the EPAT framework. Texas is a suitable geographical region to study and assess the current and future implications of energy portfolios. The research evaluates the impact of the current and projected Texas energy portfolios on water and the environment, taking into consideration production, generation and production change. The three scenarios are: Reference Case - 2015, CPP with Energy Reference Case - 2030, and No CPP with Energy Reference Case - 2030. In the presence of the CPP, total water withdrawal is expected to decrease significantly, while total water consumption is projected to experience a shy decrease due to the increase in water consumption in electricity generation caused by the new electricity mix. The CPP is successful in decreasing emissions, but is accompanied by tradeoffs, such as increasing water consumption and land use by electricity generation. The absence of the CPP will lead to an extreme surge in total water withdrawn, consumed and emissions. Therefore, conservation policies should move from the silo to the nexus mentality to avoid unintended consequences as improving one part of the nexus could end up worsening the other parts.
Subject
EnergyPolicy
Renewable Energy
Water
Sustainable Energy
Energy-Water Nexus
Electric Power Generation
Power Plant Cooling
Oil and Gas Production
Hydraulic Fracturing
Water-Energy-Food Nexus
Energy Portfolio
Energy Planning
Citation
Mroue, Ahmed Mohamad (2017). Energy Portfolio Assessment Tool (EPAT): Sustainable Energy Planning Using the WEF Nexus Approach - Texas Case Study. Master's thesis, Texas A & M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /165861.
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