2019 Food-Energy-Water Nexus

Wrf's Transition from Water-Energy Nexus to the Food-Energy-Water Nexus

Author

Dhanasekar, A. - Presenter, The Water Research Foundation
Energy has always been an important aspect as far as water is concerned. The Water Research Foundation (WRF) has had a research area solely focused on energy efficiency and resource recovery for more than a decade now. With the increasing availability of efficient and economic technologies, now is the time to develop new ways to increase energy efficiency at water and wastewater utilities as well as optimizing the use of energy for operations. WRF's portfolio of energy research has increased considerably to include all different methods of solving issues related to energy as a puzzle. Initially, the research was focused on providing effective strategies to reduce water utility energy consumption and cost, developing strategies for multi-sector, regional, integrated water-energy planning, and providing sound approaches for energy generation by water utilities. Resource recovery is now more important than ever, and the implementation of distributed energy resources and renewables is more convenient and possible with more supportive policy and incentives that help economic implementation. This presentation will highlight the direction of energy research that WRF is heading towards which includes increased sustainability, optimized energy management, big data in water and wastewater utilities and innovative technologies to enhance resource recovery, leading into the Food-Energy-Water Nexus. The primary objective of this presentation will be to showcase the latest trends in Energy Research and how WRF is leading the efforts with an overview of some its latest research findings.