The principle aim in this workshop was to provide an opportunity to gather insights into managing the water-energy nexus from business. This also included national and provincial government, and water and energy practitioners and researchers. It also served as an invaluable opportunity for networking between various groups interested in the water-energy nexus. The focus of this forum was on water use (withdrawal and consumption) for renewable energy technology, especially in areas already perceived to be water stressed. The three objectives of the workshop were to: •discuss and evaluate means of prioritising water concerns in energy planning / proposals/ projects; •evaluate methods to prioritise technologies and catchment areas for case study; and •elicit feedback on the Policy Framework for water for energy that was drafted in an earlier task of the project, for the purpose of refining the Framework.
The opportunity was also given by the workshop to test the hypothesis that water requirements are not well integrated into decision-making that requires a selection between renewable energy technologies. The workshop activities were planned with assumptions that: •project developers select one of two or more appropriate renewable energy technologies; • the process of developing renewable energy projects may be initiated with a site already in mind or with an already selected renewable energy technology; and that •there may be means to prioritise the consideration of water resources in the selection of renewable energy technologies.
