Summary

Water and energy are crucial to sustainable development, both globally and within Germany. WANDEL focuses on the question of whether limited water availability restricts the use of conventional energy systems and thereby accelerates the energy transition, or whether it actually slows the transition down. The project will be a first: Not only will it demonstrate how energy generation impacts water resources locally and regionally (using four case studies in Germany, Brazil and Morocco), but it will also investigate the long-distance effects on other regions around the world from the perspective of water availability. WANDEL will adopt an interdisciplinary approach with multiscale consideration of the direct and indirect effects of energy generation on water resources. It will link data-based and model-based analyses of various energy scenarios with their direct and long-distance effects on the water sector. The project will use the case studies to map out regulatory and technical solutions for reducing negative impacts. It will also provide qualified consultancy services, and use a Web GIS to innovatively present the results and facilitate their use.