Water Resource Constraints for Energy Development

Abstract

There is a certain water resource consumption more or less in each kind of energy production, particularly in coal mining or thermal power production. In coal mining, water is used as a medium for mining and processing and the surrounding groundwater is unwatered, which damages the groundwater aquifers of mining areas; in thermal power production, water is used as a medium for cooling, power, and hydraulic conveying. There is difference of water consumption per production capacity among enterprises because of different production technology, all enterprises treat water as a basic element in coal mining or thermal power production. Furthermore, China faces water resource shortage because of a per capita water resource less than one-third of the world average level and its water resources are unevenly distributed. What’s worse is that from spatial distribution, the coal resources in China are not matched with the water resources in China: most of the coal resources are in north China with serious water shortage; in particular, in the Yellow River basin, the Haihe River basin, and the Songhua River–Liaohe River basin, water resources have seriously curbed coal base construction and such provinces with abundant coal as Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia have serious water shortage. Additionally, in the development of related industries, the damage to groundwater systems in coal mining and the impact of energy production on the ecological environmental quality must be taken into full consideration and argumentation. Whether water resources can support growth of the energy industry or not is an unavoidable question for the energy and water resources administrative authorities.