Energy production and water footprint changes in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River basin
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Abstract:
In the past, China's energy consumption continued to rise, making the stability and security of energy supply a top priority. Water resources were a limiting factor in energy production. Throughout the entire energy production cycle, such as in mining, processing, and conversion, water was essential. The total coal resources in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River accounted for 52.2% of the country's total, making it an important energy production region. However, the self-produced water quantity of the Yellow River was insufficient and decreasing, leading to tight competition for water resources among agriculture, energy, and ecology. The contradiction between water supply and demand was becoming increasingly prominent, and energy production faced a water crisis. Based on historical energy statistical data, the changing characteristics of energy production and structure in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River were analyzed. The blue water footprint of energy production was estimated using the water footprint theory, including the blue water footprint of energy extraction and energy processing. Additionally, the impact of energy production on water resource utilization in the river basin was analyzed. From 1990 to 2020, there was an overall upward trend in the total primary energy production in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River. It increased from 150 million tons of standard coal to 1.71 billion tons of standard coal. The proportion of national production increased from 13.7% to 41%, and secondary energy production also showed an upward trend. Energy production concentration has continuously strengthened, with a shift in focus towards upstream regions from the midstream. In the past, the energy structure has also transformed. From 1990 to 2020, the proportion of raw coal in the energy production structure of the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River has shown a downward trend, while the proportion of natural gas production in primary energy output has significantly increased. There was no significant increase in the proportion of clean energy and crude oil in primary energy output. The spatial distribution of energy production structure in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River showed a pattern of "fossil energy in the midstream, clean energy in the upstream," with a widening range of clean energy distribution. The number of cities that primarily relied on raw coal had decreased, and the proportion of clean energy in their energy production structures had increased. The blue water footprint of energy production had increased significantly. It had increased from 464 million m3 in 1990 to 2518 million m3 in 2010. However, due to improvements in water use efficiency, the blue water footprint per unit of fossil energy production had decreased. At the same time, the increase in clean energy's share had also reduced the water footprint of energy production. Therefore, despite increasing production, the blue water footprint of energy production had slightly decreased to 2 424 million m3 in 2020. Except for crude oil and hydropower, all other forms of energy production in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River had maintained an upward trend. The growth rate of the blue water footprint of energy production was slower than that of energy output. Compared to the blue water footprint of energy extraction, that of energy processing was the main component of the blue water footprint during energy production. Thermal power generation was the most water-intensive form of energy processing. The high-value areas of the blue water footprint of energy production were concentrated in the "Ji-shaped bend region" in the past, where water scarcity issues were also severe, such as Erdos, Baotou, Yinchuan, and Taiyuan city.
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