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3.5.3. Evaluation of Water–Energy Nexus in Bio‐Based Systems
ОглавлениеEvaluating the water‐energy nexus requires tools and indicators that can quantify the complexity of the interaction between water and energy in bio‐based systems. Compound indexes can aggregate several components in one indicator through normalization, weighting and mathematical aggregation. For example, the Evaluation Index (EVI) is the average of normalized indicators for water use, energy use, and agricultural net return (El‐Gafy et al., 2017). This indicator is used to evaluate alternative scenarios and to rank them from the perspectives of water use, energy efficiency, and economic profitability. Accordingly, it is useful for identifying the best scenario from a set of alternative scenarios to achieve the sustainability goals. In addition, water‐related indicators that measure the specific amount of water used or lost in energy production systems are also included in the water‐energy nexus metrics (Madani and Khatami, 2015). Other examples of water‐energy nexus indicators are included in Table 3.4. While showing the interconnections between energy production and use and water production and use, these indicators are helpful for developing national polices and strategies for achieving the sustainable development goals.