Mapping the water-energy nexus: new knowledge for resources security (2016-2019)
Abstract
This project extends a novel framework to systematically evaluate energy impacts of urban water security across three inter-connected systems: (i) the direct consequences of water supply, (ii) the indirect influence of water use in industry and homes, and (iii) the remote implications of water security on supply chains. The project generates fundamental new knowledge by using, as the method, a new, high-resolution, multi-university, open-access, multi-regional input-output model of the Australian economy and its resources use: the Industrial Ecology Virtual Laboratory. It will help address escalating energy demands and costs for urban water by identifying alternative and optimal pathways for addressing energy impacts of water supply.
