When people think of water, most think of drinking water. But in reality, we also need water to grow crops, generate electricity, manufacture clothes, mine coal, and so on. In short, water is a major driving force for economic development. Currently, 97% of China's electricity production requires water daily; therefore, without water, there is no electricity.
Between 2010 and 2030, China plans to add 1.2 terawatts (1 terawatt = 1 billion kilowatts) of hydropower, which is higher than the current combined installed capacity of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Coal plays a dominant role in China's energy mix. To reduce carbon emissions, China plans to reduce the proportion of coal in its energy mix from 70% to 55%, but this will increase China's coal-fired power generation by approximately 450 gigawatts (1 gigawatt = 1 million kilowatts), more than double the current power generation of India.
Coal has always been a major concern in air pollution discussions, but few people know about its destructive impact on water resources. Coal mining consumes vast amounts of water and also pollutes water resources. 95% of China's coal mining requires significant amounts of groundwater; studies show that mining one ton of coal in Shanxi Province depletes 1.07 cubic meters of groundwater. 70% of China's coal is produced in Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Hebei, which could further exacerbate groundwater pollution in the North China Plain.
Worse still, 53% of China's coal reserves are located in water-scarce areas, and 30% in water-stressed regions. Mining and washing one ton of coal requires 24 bathtubs of water. In 2011, the largest coal-producing provinces in China produced 2.6 billion tons, but the average daily water consumption per capita was only 4.8 to 23.2 bathtubs. Considering this, shouldn't we examine whether China has enough water to build more power plants?
Recently, China's Ministry of Water Resources has begun addressing this issue. In 2013, the Ministry released a coal mining water use plan, pointing out that the future development of large-scale coal bases in China will largely depend on local water resources. Mine owners can invest in water treatment or technologies to reduce water consumption during coal mining. In 2011, China's expenditure on mine water treatment was only US$230 million, while Australia's was US$1.5 billion and Peru's was US$794 million. Given this trend, with electricity's dependence on water remaining high (projected to decrease from 97% to 87% by 2030), energy and water policies should be adapted accordingly.
Unfortunately, while alternative energy sources to coal, such as natural gas, nuclear power, and hydropower, produce less air pollution, they are limited by water resources and have their own inherent drawbacks. Currently, countries are also beginning to worry about the damage to aquifers caused by hydraulic fracturing used in shale gas development. Recently, a joint report by 19 Chinese NGOs pointed out that hydropower stations are severely damaging Chinese rivers. China has 20,000 dams, which not only block rivers and cause inter-provincial river flow interruptions but also alter ecosystems and harm biodiversity. However, current dam construction plans are extremely ambitious: hydropower generation will increase from 216 gigawatts in 2010 to 568 gigawatts in 2030, an increase equivalent to the total installed capacity of Japan and Australia in 2009. Against this backdrop, China's pursuit of clean energy may strain relations with neighboring countries, as China plans to build dams on the upper reaches of transnational rivers such as the Mekong (Lancang River), Salween (Nu River), and Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsangpo River).
Based on the above arguments, China's current focus should not only be on "reducing water consumption" but also on "reducing electricity consumption," because saving electricity is equivalent to saving water. The Chinese government's promotion of emerging industries focused on "environmental protection and energy conservation" aims to achieve this goal. If China does not implement energy-saving policies, its enormous energy demand will mean immense pressure on its water resources.
Since the language barrier is smaller when exporting to China compared to Europe, America, and Japan, Taiwanese companies should capitalize on the strong domestic trend of energy conservation and water saving in China. Whether developing new energy-saving and water-saving products or improving process equipment to reduce electricity and water consumption, there is an opportunity to tap into China's domestic market for energy conservation and water saving over the next 10 years.
Sources: Chinadialogue (2014-01-30) (Compiled by PIDC)
