Water and Energy Nexus
The expansion of global economies and populations increases the demand for both energy and water, where most of this will be from countries outside of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The relationship between energy and water (nexus) has always existed throughout the energy and water cycles of extraction, generation/treatment, distribution and waste. This relationship is only expected to grow with the pressures of improving economies and climate change prompting an invariable rise in the security of these resources. The increased demand from non-OECD countries and the need for improved security will push the nexus towards a more distributed model in which renewable energy becomes an enabler. Solar energy technologies will play an important role in decoupling the pressures and also providing relief through distributed systems.
Our group is interested in developing practical solutions for safe water production through the use of solar energy. We have been working with WaterStep, a local non-profit organization here in Louisville, KY, to produce sustainable and scalable ideas for the production of safe water. Over the years this has included:
- Hack2O, a one day hackathon involving students/professionals creating products for safe water,
- Development of a Facebook community for co-creation of business plans for safe water,
- Testing and incorporation of solar for the production of bleach.