Analysis of the water–energy nexus in central Oum Er-Rbia sub-basin – Morocco

ABSTRACT

Water and energy are highly interdependent. On one hand, water is used for extracting, refining and producing fuels, cooling power plants and producing hydropower, on the other hand, energy is also used to catch, convey and treat drinking and irrigation water. In addition, an important quantity of energy is also used for the collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater. At the level of Oum Er-Rbia basin, the use of water for energy production is mainly in hydroelectric power. The area has indeed a hydraulic generating park comprising of 13 hydroelectric plants with an installed capacity of 662.1 MW that represents 70% of national hydropower production. This energy is mainly consumed in the operations of pumping stations for wastewater and drinking water treatment and supply that use an average of 0.17 kWh/m³. Whereas irrigation consumes higher energy rate with an estimated average of 0.82 kWh/m³.

This work focuses on the central sub-basin of Oum Er-Rbia to make a detailed analysis of energy uses in the water sector and vice versa. We used the collected and treated data to create a Sankey diagram that describes the interdependence of the two resources on a local scale. Additionally, this paper reviews some of the water and energy challenges such as climate change and growing demand, and shows how the nexus can resolve these problems through an integrative management of both resources at the regional level.

KEYWORDS:

• Nexus
• water
• energy
• sub-basin
• challenge

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.