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Renewable Energy // Nexus-friendly Pathways for Growth
By Frank Wouters and Divyam Nagpal. The interlinkages between the three systems will grow stronger. By 2035 water withdrawal for energy is projected to rise by 20 percent, with consumption increasing by 85 percent. Similarly, water needs for agriculture and domestic purposes will increasingly be met through resources that are harder to reach and more energy-intensive to exploit. Producing more food will require land, water and energy inputs, with potential trade-offs involving the increasing use of bioenergy. Renewable energy technologies can be an optimal solution to reduce strains on specific elements of the Nexus and enhance security.
The rapid adoption of renewables over the past decade has been driven by ambitions to improve energy security, expand energy access, mitigate climate change and stimulate socio-economic development. The distributed, sustainable, environment- friendly and less resource consumptive nature of renewable energy means that they can also reduce strains on specific elements of the Nexus. They can further sustainable development objectives and assist governments in optimizing resource security across all sectors. However, quantitative and qualitative knowledge on the role renewables can play in addressing Nexus-related challenges remains dispersed and limited. As a first step towards bridging the knowledge gap, IRENA undertook a study entitled ‘Renewable energy and the Nexus’ to bring to the forefront the opportunities presented by renewables. The report adopted a life-cycle approach to identifying renewables intervention in the water and food sector. This chapter presents some of the key findings from the study.