LAPSE:2023.33766
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.33766
Assessing the Impact of Water Efficiency Policies on Qatar’s Electricity and Water Sectors
April 24, 2023
Water and electricity have a unique relationship in the modern world as one requires the other in a complex system of networks to supply the utility to the customers. This energy−water interaction is especially peculiar in the Gulf Cooperation Council, where there are limited water resources, but extremely high use rates. Qatar provides a unique case in terms of extreme water scarcity and excessive water use. To understand the intricate network, this paper establishes an updated and comprehensive qualitative model of the water system in the country with the help of a water balance and system dynamics (causal loop diagram) methodology. Regression estimates are then used to estimate future water and energy consumption in addition to carbon dioxide emissions until the year 2050. Finally, system dynamics (stock and flow diagram) is used to determine the supply impacts of efficiency policies including limiting of groundwater abstraction to only 50 million m3, reduction of water consumption in the household, commercial and industrial sector by 10%, and gradual increase in the share of reverse osmosis (RO)-produced desalinated water to 50% in order to assess the supply volume, electricity consumption and CO2 emissions. The efficient use of water in different sectors of the economy results in a combined saving of 1222 GWh (8.1%) or 594,000 tons CO2. Furthermore, by moving to membrane-based desalination technology energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 3672 GWh (24.3%) and 1.8 million tons CO2, respectively. Further results suggest that while replacing groundwater with desalinated water can increase the energy consumption significantly, reuse of treated wastewater has almost the same footprint as groundwater, but can increase the resilience of the system considerably as groundwater abstraction levels are lowered to their renewal rates.
Keywords
Energy Efficiency, energy policy, system dynamics, water-energy nexus
Suggested Citation
Kamal A, Al-Ghamdi SG, Koç M. Assessing the Impact of Water Efficiency Policies on Qatar’s Electricity and Water Sectors. (2023). LAPSE:2023.33766
Author Affiliations
Kamal A: Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science & Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha P.O. Box 34110, Qatar
Al-Ghamdi SG: Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science & Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha P.O. Box 34110, Qatar [ORCID]
Koç M: Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science & Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha P.O. Box 34110, Qatar [ORCID]
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
14
Issue
14
First Page
4348
Year
2021
Publication Date
2021-07-19
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
Version Comments
Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: en14144348, Publication Type: Journal Article
Record Map
Published Article

LAPSE:2023.33766
This Record
External Link

doi:10.3390/en14144348
Publisher Version
Download
Files
[Download 1v1.pdf] (8.1 MB)
Apr 24, 2023
Main Article
License
CC BY 4.0
Meta
Record Statistics
Record Views
93
Version History
[v1] (Original Submission)
Apr 24, 2023
 
Verified by curator on
Apr 24, 2023
This Version Number
v1
Citations
Most Recent
This Version
URL Here
https://psecommunity.org/LAPSE:2023.33766
 
Original Submitter
Auto Uploader for LAPSE
Links to Related Works
Directly Related to This Work
Publisher Version