Unreflective use of old data sources produced echo chambers in the water–electricity nexus

Abstract

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Spatially distributed freshwater demand for electricity in Africa

“…30 This approach has led to the double or even triple counting of the original source, as the same water intensity is passed on from one source to another. 31 Additionally, these databases are often separated by fuel without considering the specifics regarding electricity production technology or the power plant's location. Most of the available information on water intensities for electricity production comes from case studies of power plants in the global North, which makes median values unreliable for specific electricity-producing technologies and climates that are primarily present in the global South, such as Africa.…”

Water for energy: Characterizing co‐evolving energy and water systems under twin climate and energy system nonstationarities

“…To date, however, more detailed data, including on uses of water for parts of the energy system beyond thermoelectric power generation, have typically been collected by researchers in a relatively ad hoc manner (Gleick, 1994; Grubert & Sanders, 2018; McManamay et al, 2021; Spang et al, 2014—though see US DOE [1980] as an early federal effort). Challenges with data scarcity have led to frequent republication and unit conversion, such that data provenance can be difficult to identify and validate as still relevant under current system conditions (Fthenakis & Kim, 2010; Grubert et al, 2020; Mekonnen et al, 2015; Vaca‐Jiménez et al, 2021).…”