European Drought Highlights Dangers For Electricity Supplies

Via BBC, a report on the impact of drought on electricity generation in Europe: The ongoing drought in the UK and Europe is putting electricity generation under pressure, say experts. Electricity from hydropower – which uses water to generate power – has dropped by 20% overall. And nuclear facilities, which are cooled using river water, […]

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As Drought Shrivels Lake Powell, Millions Face Power Crisis

Via The Guardian, an article on how – with water levels falling ‘lower than thought possible’ at Glen Canyon dam – energy production could halt as soon as July 2023: Bob Martin, the deputy power manager at the Glen Canyon dam, gestures at the band of whitish, chalky residue running along the steep canyon walls […]

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Sri Lanka Can Gain a Myriad of Benefits from Twinning Floating Solar and Hydropower

Via the World Bank, a look at how adding large-scale floating solar plants would not only make electricity greener and affordable but improve Sri Lanka’s competitiveness: Floating solar could bring multiple benefits such as better land utilisation, improved efficiency and it gives potential to help Sri Lanka meet its renewable energy goals Globally over 30 […]

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Could Nuclear Desalination Help Defeat Water Scarcity?

Via BBC, an interesting look at the potential for nuclear desalination to help address global water scarcity: There are communities on every continent running short of water, according to the United Nations. Unfortunately, although our planet is swathed by oceans and seas, only a tiny fraction of Earth’s water - about 2.5% – is fresh, and demand for drinking water […]

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The “Fuel of the Future” and Water Insecurity in South Africa’s Platinum Belt

Via The Wilson Center’s New Security Beat, a look at the watergy nexus of hydrogen fuel and the impact that water scarcity in South Africa may have upon the industry: Hydrogen fuel is becoming a central pillar of global decarbonization strategies. The hype over green hydrogen (the “fuel of the future”) and its potential to provide an […]

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Hydropower’s Future: Clouded by Droughts, Floods and Climate Change

Via The Conversation, an article on how hydropower’s future is clouded by droughts, floods and climate change, but it’s also essential to the US electric grid: The water in Lake Powell, one of the nation’s largest reservoirs, has fallen so low amid the Western drought that federal officials are resorting to emergency measures to avoid shutting down hydroelectric power at […]

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About This Blog And Its Author
As the scarcity of water and energy continues to grow, the linkage between these two critical resources will become more defined and even more acute in the months ahead.  This blog is committed to analyzing and referencing articles, reports, and interviews that can help unlock the nascent, complex and expanding linkages between water and energy -- The Watergy Nexus -- and will endeavor to provide a central clearinghouse for insightful articles and comments for all to consider.

Educated at Yale University (Bachelor of Arts - History) and Harvard (Master in Public Policy - International Development), Monty Simus has held a lifelong interest in environmental and conservation issues, primarily as they relate to freshwater scarcity, renewable energy, and national park policy.  Working from a water-scarce base in Las Vegas with his wife and son, he is the founder of Water Politics, an organization dedicated to the identification and analysis of geopolitical water issues arising from the world’s growing and vast water deficits, and is also a co-founder of SmartMarkets, an eco-preneurial venture that applies web 2.0 technology and online social networking innovations to motivate energy & water conservation.  He previously worked for an independent power producer in Central Asia; co-authored an article appearing in the Summer 2010 issue of the Tulane Environmental Law Journal, titled: “The Water Ethic: The Inexorable Birth Of A Certain Alienable Right”; and authored an article appearing in the inaugural issue of Johns Hopkins University's Global Water Magazine in July 2010 titled: “H2Own: The Water Ethic and an Equitable Market for the Exchange of Individual Water Efficiency Credits.”