posted on 2019-10-25, 08:03authored byFadiel Ahjum
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<p>The case study will build on an existing TIMES energy
system optimization model (SATIM), which will be complemented with
existing results from the South African water resources yield model to
obtain marginal water supply costs relevant to new energy sector
investments in particular water management areas. <br></p><p><br></p>
<p>The proposed modeling system will require treatment of risk and
uncertainty. Resource cost and availability are typically defined by
supply-cost curves, which are inputs to the model, and uncertainty in
the cost or availability of specific resources is traditionally handled
through scenario or sensitivity analyses which show how much the model
results change when these parameters are changed. A core part of the
project will be sensitivity analysis of how differing degrees of water
scarcity, as measured by different potential supply costs, affect energy
sector investment choices.</p>
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The interdependency between water and energy is growing in importance as demands for both water and energy increase. Several regions of the world are already experiencing water and energy security challenges, which adversely affect sustainable economic growth. In addition, the world’s population is expected to grow, which will in turn increase demand for water and energy, especially in fast-growing developing countries.
The project aims to represent the evolving cost of water to the technologies represented in an energy system’s planning model, ERC’s SATIM model, by representing the planned augmentation schemes for key water supply regions to 2050 and their projected costs and capacities. This will thus be a water-smart energy planning model (SATIM-W) which is hoped will give powerful insights into infrastructure decisions when combined with climate scenarios.