World Water Development Report on Water and Energy

Facts and figures

The Facts and Figures in this section are drawn from the upcoming edition of the World Water Development Report on Water and Energy that will be published in March 2014 and launched on the occasion of World Water Day celebrations in Tokyo, Japan.







Hydroelectricity


Hydroelectricity is the largest renewable source for power generation and its share in total electricity generation is expected to remain around 16% through 2035.




Hydropower and water use


Most of the water used for hydropower generation is returned to the river though some evaporates and there are important impacts on timing and quality of streamflows.




Industrial water use


Roughly 75% of all industrial water withdrawals are used for energy production.




Financing water


For developing countries alone $103 billion per year are required to finance water, sanitation and wastewater treatment through 2015.




Energy for water


Energy is required for two components of water provision: pumping and treatment (before and after use).




Waterborne transportation


Waterborne transit is one of the most energy efficient. Inland towing barges are more than 3 times more energy efficient than road trucks and 40% more efficient than rail.




Biogas produced from sewage


In Stockholm, public buses, waste collection trucks and taxis run on biogas produced from sewage treatment plants.




Access to water and sanitation


In 2011, 768 million people did not use an improved source of drinking-water and 2.5 billion people did not use improved sanitation.




Access to electricity


More than 1.3 billion people still lack access to electricity, and roughly 2.6 billion use solid fuels (mainly biomass) for cooking.




Wind power

Wind power is the most sustainable source of renewable energy, mainly because of its low greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption.






Pollution by fossil fuels

Approximately 15–18 billion m3 of freshwater resources are contaminated by fossil fuel production every year.




Biodiesel and water


China's target to produce 12 million metric tonnes of biodiesel by 2020 requires an amount of water approximately equivalent to the annual discharge of the Yellow River.




Biofuels and food prices

The demand for biofuels feedstock is the largest source of new demand for agricultural production in decades, and it was a major factor behind the 2007−08 spike in food prices.



Geothermal electricity potential

The installed worldwide geothermal electricity capacity could be increased from the current 10 GW to 70 GW with present technology, and to 140 GW with enhanced technology.