Study Reveals Water Needed to Produce Energy

摘要

It is easy to overlook the fact that most of the energy we consume daily is produced with the help of fresh water. Virginia Tech professor Tamim Younos and student Rachelle Hill are researching the water efficiency of some of the most common energy sources and power-generating methods. Younos, associate director at the Virginia Water Resources Research Center based at Virginia Tech and research professor of water resources in the College of Natural Resources, and undergraduate researcher Hill, majoring in environmental science and aquatic resource concentration, have analyzed 11 types of energy sources, including coal, fuel ethanol, natural gas, and oil, and five power-generating methods, including hydroelectric, fossil fuel thermoelectric, and nuclear methods. Younos said they based their calculations on available governmental reports by using a standard measurement unit, which makes this study unique.