Abstract:

Climate change is one of today’s biggest problems, and it is closely related to the fundamental resource that is water and the essential service that is energy; in other words, the water-energy nexus.

It is clear that the water-energy nexus is of vital importance today, and that its development is of great interest. As a result, two final master’s projects at the Manresa School of Engineering (EPSEM) applied this nexus to the school’s facilities. They explore the relationship between the water resource and the energy service.

It is important to note that water is needed to produce energy, while energy is needed to supply water. Each of the two aforementioned projects studied one of the two branches of the nexus:
- Study of EPSEM’s water consumption, analysing the related energy needs: This project analyses water consumption with a study of its urban cycle; in other words, the process of collection, treatment, distribution, sanitation and purification. Each of these stages has an associated energy consumption. By examining the school’s water usage, it was possible to determine the volume of potable water consumed as well as the wastewater emitted. Using the data provided by the managers of Manresa’s drinking water treatment station and wastewater treatment plant, the kWh required for both the purification and sanitation of water was determined.
- Study of EPSEM’s energy consumption, analysing water needs in relationship to energy production: This product looked at EPSEM’s energy consumption and calculated the equivalent amount of water needed for a nearby micro-hydroelectric power plant, considering that there is only one mini-hydroelectric plant while the rest are micro-hydroelectric. To achieve this calculation, data from the Catalan Water Agency’s databases were analysed, including the concession flows and the operating capacities of the micro-hydroelectric plants in the Bages region.

These two projects are part of the CAMPUS LAB program, which associates students’ learning, the faculty’s knowledge and guidance, and the expertise of technical management staff to improve the sustainability of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC).

Both projects were experiential, as they were applied to the schools where the authors conducted their studies and, as a result, the conclusions can be evaluated and applied in a real setting. This has allowed for improvements in the optimization of water and energy consumption, and thus a more sustainable school.

Keywords:

Water-energy, Nexus, Campus Lab, Climate change, sustainability.