The water footprint variable in energy production - Every energy project needs to factor in the water impact within its feasibility studies

In its race for economic progress, India is bearing the cost of development. The need for increased energy for its mushrooming shopping malls, industrial complexes, industries and power plants, has made it yet another power-guzzling nation.

A short-sighted approach, inadequate legislation that addresses the multivariate needs, lack of awareness or stringent monitoring and a deficit policy of natural resource management, has translated the once abundant water reserves of India into a cacophony of analogous issues, all of which demand an immediate policy re-think and action.

A triple whammy situation has emerged where water reserves are fast depleting, existent water is unfit for use sans treatment, while water requirement is growing multi fold. This series primarily looks to the water-energy nexus that has assumed a critical issue in the field of business and environment, demanding an urgent policy re-think into the water consumption and environmental impact in the process of energy production.

The Water Footprint of renewable and non-renewable sources of energy production is a sadly over-looked factor. Yet, together with the Environmental Impact, every energy project needs to factor-in the water impact within its feasibility studies.