Water and Energy in the Southwestern US- Linking the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) and the Long-range Energy Analysis and Planning (LEAP) decision support systems to explore the implications of water and energy choices in California
Abstract
While interest in the water-energy nexus has been growing, there remains a dearth of modeling tools to evaluate long-term interactions and feedbacks between these sectors in the context of a changing climate. We explicitly couple a model of the southwestern US water system using the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) and the Long-range Energy Analysis and Planning (LEAP) decision support systems to explore the interactions between water and energy in the region, with particular emphasis on California. The coupled system facilities a more complete and accurate evaluation of the workability and consequences of alternative climate mitigation, adaptation, and socioeconomic development strategies. To illustrate the utility of the coupling, the implications of California's future electric generation portfolio and their associated CO2 emissions are explored within the context of a growing regional population with changing water needs, facing an uncertain future climate. We demonstrate how the highly resolved, coupled energy and water modeling system framework can be used to facilitate policy development and adaptation planning at appropriate geographical scales.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.H14F..02M
- Keywords:
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- 1878 HYDROLOGY Water/energy interactions;
- 1637 GLOBAL CHANGE Regional climate change;
- 1880 HYDROLOGY Water management