Upgrading Urban Water Storage System: Achieving Water Conservation, Power Generation, Carbon Reduction, and Water Quality Enhancement

TL;DR

This paper proposes covering Beijing's reservoirs and water channels with solar panels to conserve water, generate electricity, reduce carbon emissions, and improve water quality, demonstrating significant environmental and economic benefits.

Contribution

It introduces a novel integrated approach of solar panel coverage on water infrastructure to simultaneously address water conservation, power generation, and pollution reduction in urban settings.

Findings

Annual water savings of 383 million m3

Electricity generation of 72.6 billion kWh

Carbon dioxide emissions reduced by 6.84 billion kg

Abstract

Beijing is a megacity with a population of over 20 million. It has a massive demand for water and electricity and is responsible for achieving carbon neutrality. However, Beijing is in a highly arid region, and its local electricity production supply is less than 30% of the demand. The city's carbon neutrality goal also faces enormous challenges. To address these problems, this paper proposes a plan to cover the Beijing area's surface reservoirs and water channels with solar panels. The results show that the plan is expected to save an average of 383 million m3 of water per year (which can meet the annual water needs of 2.13 million households), generate 72.6 billion kWh of electricity (which can meet the annual electricity needs of 25.23 million households), reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 6.84 billion kg (equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide absorption of 3.1 billion mature trees), and reduce the concentration of one carcinogenic substance, microcystin, by 97.3%, while also addressing the issue of bromate. The results strongly suggest the potential social and economic value of using solar panels to cover surface reservoirs and water channels. Field control experiments and related research should be actively promoted.