New insights on the tradeoffs between energy generation and irrigation: A global analysis

Both hydropower and bioenergy development have come off age to address growing energy scarcity sustainably. However, relatively little is known about the actual water use intensity of these forms of energy generation. Moreover, very little to nothing is known about energy-water interactions in developing countries. There is also little to no knowledge about the impacts of energy developments on global food security. However, the interactions between hydropower (and other energy sources) and food production are becoming more important as more developing countries have started to re-engage in hydropower development, specifically large-scale hydropower development, and are also expanding other forms of energy generation, all of which require water. Furthermore, in both Africa and Asia, the largest new dams are built in transboundary river basins with often unknown impacts on downstream food security. This activity will shed light on these topics across the WLE focal regions through addressing the following research questions: How does hydropower generation change under increasingly complex and often conflicting interests, and climate change? How do hydropower-irrigation interactions evolve under growing water scarcity? How do changes in energy prices affect hydropower-irrigation interactions?