APEC Project Proposal
Project No.EWG 05 2020A
Project TitleWater-Energy Nexus Decision Tool for Electric Power Generation and Cogeneration
Project StatusProject in Implementation
Publication (if any)
Fund AccountAPEC Support Fund
Sub-fundASF: General Fund
Project Year2020
Project SessionSession 2
APEC Funding150,000
Co-funding Amount25,000
Total Project Value175,000
Sponsoring ForumEnergy Working Group (EWG)
TopicsEnergy
CommitteeSOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE)
Other Fora Involved
Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved
Proposing Economy(ies)United States
Co-Sponsoring EconomiesAustralia;Indonesia;Japan;Malaysia;Philippines
Expected Start Date01/05/2021
Expected Completion Date30/06/2022
Project Proponent Name 1Scott M Smouse
Job Title 1Senior Advisor
Organization 1Office of Clean Coal and Carbon Management, Office of Fossil Energy, US Department of Energy
Postal Address 1Not Applicable
Telephone 1(1-202) 5866278
Fax 1Not Applicable
Email 1scott.smouse@hq.doe.gov
Project Proponent Name 2Not Applicable
Job Title 2Not Applicable
Organization 2Not Applicable
Postal Address 2Not Applicable
Telephone 2Not Applicable
Fax 2Not Applicable
Email 2Not Applicable
DeclarationScott M Smouse
Project Summary
While not limited to Asia, water scarcity impacts about 30% of the region’s population. Economic development and quality of life requires both water and energy for electricity generation, transportation, space heating/cooling, household washing, cooking, and a wide range of industrial processes. Governments and industry need to better understand the links between water and energy production and consumption – the ‘water-energy nexus’ – while planning and approving new thermal power generation and cogeneration facilities or expanding existing facilities. A multi-criteria decision support tool will be developed to help assess potential water sources (fresh, waste, industrial, and natural brackish waters, etc.) and to evaluate technology options to conserve or reuse water for these facilities. The tool will provide stakeholders with the means to make better decisions, based on engineering and economics, related to water planning, policy, and investment, which will help ensure reliable power generation in water-stressed areas. This proposal covers development of a tool for fossil fuel- and biomass-based thermal power generation and cogeneration, which could be extended in subsequent projects to cover other water-intensive power and industrial facilities.
Relevance

Relevance – Region: It has been reported that around 30% of the Asian population in the Asia Pacific region faces water scarcity[i]. However, water scarcity and its broad societal impacts, including provision of food and electricity, is not limited to Asia. One example of such concerns was a virtual symposium, titled 'The Role of Regional Cooperation in Achieving Sustainable Development Using Nuclear Energy: Integrated Planning for the Water, Energy and Food Nexus in the Arab Region', was organized in mid-September by the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission[ii].

Moreover, water scarcity is likely to get worse over the coming decades. Economic development requires both water and energy for electricity generation, transportation, space heating/cooling, household washing, cooking, and a wide range of industrial activities that improve the quality of life. Governments and industry in the region need to better understand the links between water and energy production and consumption – the ‘water-energy nexus’ – while planning and approving new thermal power generation and cogeneration facilities or when expanding existing facilities. Addressing potential vulnerabilities stemming from water resource limitations is important for all economies to meet their energy and economic development needs. Much of the APEC region is heavily dependent on thermal energy for power generation, which can draw significant water from available resources.

The EWG recognized this issue and subsequently initiated high-level analytical work on the water-energy nexus a few years ago, including an “APEC Workshop on Integrated Energy Water Planning and Policy Formulation (EWG 13 2018A)” under its Energy Resiliency Task Force. During this workshop, emerging concerns regarding the impact of competing water demands on energy security and sustainability, were discussed along with needed science and technology activities to bridge the gap between current energy and water use and management and future needs and directions for APEC economies.

In parallel, to begin to address this issue from a detailed technical plant-level perspective, the EGCFE proposed and completed two initial APEC-funded projects. The EWG 08/2014A study “Water Energy Nexus: Coal-Based Power Generation and Conversion - Saving Water” highlighted available and emerging technologies to reduce water consumption during fossil fuel-based electricity generation. The subsequent Water-Energy Nexus Expert Workshop (EWG 07/2015) shared information from that study with experts from the region, discussed a wide range of technical, policy, and regulatory aspects of the water-energy nexus, and suggested follow-on work. A key recommendation from the EGCFE workshop was the urgent need for a plant-level tool, preferably in the public domain, to assist decision makers on the selection and efficient use of available water resources, not only for power generation, but for all water-intensive processes.

This new project would build upon the prior work by the EWG’s Energy Resiliency Task and the EGCFE by developing this critically needed new tool, which will initially be developed for fossil-fuel and biomass-fired thermal plants. The tool could be extended to other types of water-intensive thermal non-coal (i.e., natural gas and nuclear) power generation and cogeneration facilities and industrial facilities in follow-on proposals. for This proposal addresses development of a software a tool for fossil fuel- and biomass-based power generation and cogeneration facilities. Once completed, the tool could be expanded in follow-on EGCFE proposals for other water-intensive power and industrial facilities.  The tool will benefit decision makers in the electric power industry, water resource managers and planners, government agencies, and technology developers in the APEC region and globally.

Relevance – Eligibility and Fund Priorities:

a) This project supports capacity building needs for developing APEC economies (see Relevance – Capacity Building) in an area that is critical to all APEC economies.

b) This project matches the APEC Support Fund - General Fund’s eligibility criteria, specifically priority areas in the ECOTECH Priority Themes articulated in the Manila Framework: 1) safeguarding the quality of life through environmentally sound growth; 2) promoting development of knowledge-based economies, and 3) developing human capital.

Relevance – Capacity Building: This project will provide stakeholders in the APEC region with a scientific/engineering-based decision support tool to make better planning, policy, and investment decisions to ensure reliable power generation, especially in water-stressed areas of APEC economies reliant on thermal power generation. Model documentation and remote/virtual user orientation/training will be provided to potential users; and more detailed training could be conducted with follow-on APEC or other funding. The project will also help improve the awareness and understanding of water issues related to power generation in the region and develop professional capabilities and capacity of all APEC economies to implement best practices in the water-energy nexus.

[i] “Is Asia facing a coming water crisis?,” International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), 18 June 2018, https://iiasa.ac.at/web/home/resources/publications/options/Is_Asia_facing_a_coming_water_crisis .html

[ii] Jordan Prince Hassan calls for establishing water-energy-food nexus in Arab region, MENAFN, 22 September 2020, https://menafn.com/1100840720/Jordan-Prince-Hassan-calls-for-establishing-water-energy-food-nexus-in-Arab-region
Objectives

Satisfy the urgent need for a readily available, public domain, plant-level tool that can assist decision makers during identification of strategies and technologies to enable efficient use of available water resources, not only for power generation, but for all water-intensive processes.

Success in achieving the objective will be through accomplishment of the outputs listed in supporting the larger goal of bridging the gap between current energy and water use and management and future needs and directions for APEC economies.
Alignment

Alignment - APEC:  This project responds to the APEC Energy Ministers’ 2015 Declaration and instructions to the EWG:

·  Cognizant that the energy-water nexus is an important aspect of our collective energy resiliency, it is important that we understand the interdependence of these resources, determine vulnerabilities, and strengthen our response to anticipated changes exacerbated by climate change. Our energy facilities require a reliable and abundant source of water, which is already in short supply around the world. As we define the appropriate fuel and power generation technology mix that would support the twin goals of economic prosperity and environmental sustainability, we will endeavor ways to understand the complex relationship between energy and water, address challenges, and utilize both resources more efficiently.

·  As global concern on the linkages among energy, water and security increases, we hereby instruct the EWG to initiate in-depth studies on challenges stemming from the energy-water nexus and ways to mitigate the vulnerabilities by reducing water-stressed activities and striking a delicate balance for sustaining economic growth with the optimal use of energy and water resources.

Alignment – Forum: The project aligns with the objective of “Enhance Energy Resiliency and Energy Access” in the EWG Strategic Plan for 2019-2023: Undertake research and demonstration to understand the water-energy nexus, share best practices and address associated challenges. 
TILF/ASF Justification
Not Applicable.
Beneficiaries and Outputs

Outputs: In the planning stage, the Project Overseer, will successfully solicit bids to develop the support tool. The Project Overseer will work with the contractor to ensure that the finalized model methodology and the work plan can sustain the capacity building goals within the project. 

The contractor shall:

Develop a software tool within the scope of this project but that will be based on a framework for a flexible, expandable tool. The specific content to be included in the product to be developed by this funding will be focused on informed decision making on water supply, use, and water treatment issues relevant to fossil fuel- and biomass-based power generation and cogeneration facilities. Information required may be gathered from arrange of sources and published materials relevant to plant-level operations. In addition, the impact of environmental policies and water use trends and projected growth in demand will form another portion of the knowledge base. Creating a support tool that is inherently flexible and that can be expanded to other thermal energy applications and to emerging technologies for producing and managing both energy and clean water, provides a decision support tool can be readily adapted across APEC economies.

The main output is the tool, which will be designed to facilitate decision making by appropriate personnel. Remote/virtual training will be developed and provided to demonstrate how relevant organizations may use the tool to involve a broad cross-section of stakeholders in the planning and permitting processes for thermal power and cogeneration facilities. The application itself can be disseminated from a link on the EGCFE web site. The training will be recorded, and posted to the EGCFE’s website, for later viewing by others.  Also, the project budget includes remote/virtual support for technical assistance by those attending the training events through  the end of the project. Applications such as this may develop user communities that can provide peer-to-peer expertise to assist users within the APEC region. Also, post-project completion, the PO’s organization may be able to support limited additional training and support if demand is strong.

The tool will be documented either imbedded in the tool itself (depending on the application used by the contractor (e.g, MS Excel) or possibly in a separate document. This documentation will generally describe the tool, including the methodology used, along with its highlighting its capabilities and limitations. It will not attempt to explain the individual calculations in the tool, which should largely be evident to users of the tool, who are expected to well-versed technically.

The knowledge gained as to how to successfully employ the tool, including lessons learned from the training sessions and from showcasing the tool at an relevant  conference in the region will be summarized and captured in the final report. The final report, which is expected to be 50-75 pages, will describe creation of the decision-support tool to assess potential water sources for fossil fuel- and biomass-based power generation and cogeneration facilities and outline the structure and resources needed for potential follow-onprojects to be proposed. The tool will be designed and shaped by feedback to benefit decision makers in the electric power industry, water resource managers and planners, government agencies, and technology developers in the APEC region and globally.

1. Develop a decision support tool to assess potential water sources (fresh, waste, industrial, natural brackish waters, etc.) for thermal power generation and cogeneration, which will allow evaluation of technology and plant operational options to conserve or reuse water. This tool will be based on the existing knowledge base along with expert input.

2. Provide remote/virtual training on the new tool. Design of the training will be part of the contractors’ submission. The intent is to provide remote/virtual training to at least 50 people from various organizations in the region. This may occur as two or more scheduled events.

3. Showcase this tool, including lessons learned from remote/virtual training, at a major conference to alert various stakeholders of the availability of a scientific support tool for planning, policy, and investment decisions for thermal power generation and cogeneration.

4. A final report will be prepared describing the tool, the results of the remote/virtual training, and the success when showcasing the tool. 

Outcomes: 

a) The outputs from this project will provide stakeholders in the APEC region with an engineering-based decision support tool to make better planning, policy, and investment decisions and to ensure reliable power generation, especially in water-stressed areas of APEC economies reliant on thermal power generation.

b) The resulting information can help planners and those operating thermal units to balance both the need for power and the rising demand for clean water for both power generation and many other societal needs.

c)  Outcomes of individual plant or larger regional assessments using the tool could lead governments to make water and energy policy and regulatory changes, at the local and domestic levels, regarding better allocation of water across all demand sectors. This could impact the siting and operations of not only existing and new power plants, but also planning and approval of other sectors, including residential, commercial, and industry, which use water. 

Beneficiaries: The intended project beneficiaries and stakeholders are expected to be:

·  Key government officials involved in decision-making on clean coal technologies; fossil power generation strategies; water supply planning and urban planning, greenhouse gas mitigation; and relevant environmental/regulatory issues

·  Power generation sector decision-makers

·  Power engineering and technology supply sectors

·  Water system planners and decision-makers

·  Water-treatment and -monitoring engineering companies and technology suppliers

·  Institutes and academia involved in economic and policy analysis in this area

·  The general public and potentially future generations.

·  Other international fora active in this topic area (e.g., IEA/OECD). 

They will benefit in a number of ways:

·  Water and energy policymakers will benefit from information and data on policies and measures to achieve balances at the water-energy nexus while reducing water withdrawal demands by power generators.

·  Governments, the water planning and supply sector, and the power generation sector in APEC economies will benefit from capacity building through improved knowledge and access to this information.

·  The engineering and technology supply sectors for both water and power technologies will be better placed to identify opportunities to deploy advanced technologies and methods to improve balance between power generation and growing demands for high-quality water across all APEC economies.

Future generations will benefit through by improving the sustainability of water use, which will help to ensure equitable water supply to all users.
Dissemination

The Final Report will be disseminated as an APEC Publication, posted on the APEC, EGCFE, and EWG websites for viewing and downloading, and promoted through social media, especially on LinkedIn to a number of thermal power and cogeneration and water expert groups. This will enable the results of the project to be shared with others, including other international fora, active in this area. In addition, it is envisaged that the results will be presented at relevant conference in the region and possibly described in a key journal publication.

The target audience includes:

·  Key government officials involved in decision-making on clean coal technologies; fossil power generation strategies; water supply planning and urban planning, greenhouse gas mitigation; and relevant environmental/regulatory issues

·  Power generation sector decision-makers

·  Power engineering and technology suppliers

·  Water system planners and decision-makers

·  Water-treatment and monitoring engineering companies and technology suppliers

·  Institutes and academia involved in economic and policy analysis in this area

·  The general public and potentially future generations who could be impacted by water availability and quality.

·  Other international fora active in this topic area (e.g., IEA/OECD).

Similarly, the tool including documentation be available from the EGCFE’s website. Training will be provided through a widely available video application (WebEx, MS Teams, Zoom, etc.) by the selected contractor recognizing the limitations that some governments and organizations place on these applications. The specific video application will be after the PO’s consultation with the selected contractor and considering information on the trainee’s preferred video application that will be collected during the registration process for the online training. The training will be recorded and also posted to the EGCFE’s website for viewing later by others who download the tool. Also, the contractor may make the tool (and documentation if separate) available from their website.
Gender

The EWG always encourages participation of women from all APEC members in all its committees, projects, and activities. Women have served in the past as the principal investigators/lead authors of several EGCFE projects. Participation by women in the project steering committee will be encouraged, and the committee will encourage women to participate actively in the project. The PO commits to collecting sex-aggregated data for all project participants, including the selected contractor’s team and individuals who are trained.

The project will be carried out by a consultant in response to a tender. The RFP will stress the need to involve women in both planning and implementation stages. In the evaluation of submitted bids in response to the project RFP, specific attention will be given to qualified women proposed by the bidder. The EGCFE members involved will ensure that the winning submission adheres to the priorities of the Framework for the Integration of Women in APEC (“Accelerate the progress of integrating women in the mainstream of APEC processes and activities” and “Promote and encourage the involvement of women in all APEC fora”). The APEC Framework, as well as the Gender Analysis Guide and other relevant documents, will be made available to those involved in all aspects of the project; their application will be monitored throughout the project.

The degree of women involvement, in terms of responsibility and numbers, can be evaluated objectively at the conclusion of the project. Of particular interest in this regard, apart from the number and qualifications of women experts in the project, will be their input to the analysis, and the consequences of their input for the project results and conclusions, both as far as gender is concerned and in general. This aspect addresses Criteria 2.4 (Leadership, Voice and Agency) and Criteria 2.5 (Innovation and Technology) in the Guidebook to APEC Projects, Edition 14. The contractor will be monitored and instructed to utilize knowledge and skills of women experts to satisfy the 30% target. Similarly, project implementation will target participation in the remote/virtual training by women to constitute 30% of attendees. The actual numbers of women participating as both experts and trainees will be documented in the Final Report.

The primary objective of the project is information transfer related to the environmentally sustainable and efficient use of water for a multitude of societal uses and for coal for power generation in the APEC region. Having an adequate, dependable, and efficient supply of energy in the APEC region, while also being able to meet increasing demand for clean water for industry and for residential development, benefits both men and women. Populations at the lowest economic levels of society are usually impacted the most, e.g., women can be uplifted by provision of adequate clean water for domestic use and of electricity to replace direct use of domestic fuels, such as wood or coal, for cooking and space heating, and freed from the daily time-consuming efforts to obtain water.
Work Plan

The contractor will be selected based on their documented expertise in power systems and water use technologies and issues, especially those applicable to power systems and industrial facilities, and with developing related decision support tools.

Development of the tool, within the scope of this project, will be based a flexible, expandable framework. The specific content to be included in the tool with this funding will focus on informed decision making on water supply, use, and treatment issues relevant to fossil fuel- and biomass-based power generation and cogeneration facilities. By creating a support tool that is inherently flexible and expandable to other thermal energy applications and to emerging technologies for producing and managing both energy and clean water, the decision support tool can be readily adapted across APEC economies having widely different power and industrial sectors and water resource endowments.

The user-friendly tool will be designed to facilitate decision making by appropriate personnel. The remote/virtual training will provide insight into how planning organizations may use the tool to involve a broader cross-section of stakeholders potentially impacted by  by water consumption for thermal power generation and cogeneration. The knowledge gained as to how best to use the tool will be captured in the final report. The remote/virtual training will be offered in March 2022 and in early April 2022. A General Information Circular for the training, which will include a description of the tool and it value in the water-energy nexus planning process, along with an agenda along a nomination form for the training events ,will be prepared and sent to EWG/EGCFE members and to APEC’s Policy Partnership for Science, Technology and Innovation (PPSTI), which ought to be interested and supportive of this project, to nominate experts (men and women) to participate in the training. After training, these experts would be able  to not only use the tool to address pressing water-energy nexus issues for existing and proposed fossil- and biomass-based power and cogeneration facilities in their economy, but train others in in their economy in its use. This will occur 2 months prior to each scheduled remote/virtual training event. . The General Information Circular will be distributed by the APEC Secretariat to all economies and posted on EGCFE’s web site and social media, such as LinkedIn, to attract additional participants, especially from industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations. The speakers during the training will be from the consultants who developed the tool.

The final report will describe creation of a decision support tool to assess potential water sources for fossil fuel- and biomass-based power generation and cogeneration facilities and outline the structure and resources needed for potential follow-on proposals to extend the tool to other water-intensive power and industrial facilities. The tool will benefit decision makers in the electric power industry, water resource managers and planners, government agencies, and technology developers in the APEC region and globally. The report could, based on shareholder feedback, elucidate the value of potential follow-on work focusing on industrial facilities, which intake a substantial amount of water, whether that water is consumed or not. Results of the on-line training will be discussed, both in terms of direct outcomes (number of participants, feedback from participants, etc.) and lessons learned that could be applied to subsequent training events. The Final Report will be prepared as an APEC document. Model documentation will be prepared as a stand-alone appendix to the Final Report to facilitate use of the tool by others. This documentation will describe the overall model and information sources for typical technology performance and costs used in the model at the time of its release. It will also explain how these technology performance and cost parameters can be revised/customized to reflect new technologies and local circumstances, such as labour rates, technology performance and cost, and water-related factors, such as quality, quantity, and cost, in accordance with its intended use as a planning tool (i.e., not to select a specific vendor for a technology). Additional online support for those attending the training be available from the consultant for a limited time after the training and before project completion. A contact for the consultant will be shared with all participants during the training events and will be posted on the EGCFE website to request follow-on support.

Time

Tasks

Deliverables

February - April 2021

Issue project RFP, evaluate bids, select contractor, and issue contract

Contract signed with selected consultant

May 2021

Finalize model methodology and develop work plan

Agreed modelling methodology and detailed development milestones

May 2021 - February 2022

Develop prototype decision tool

Prototype decision support tool competed

October 2021

Submit first APEC Project Monitoring Report

First APEC Project Monitoring Report

April 2022

Submit second APEC Project Monitoring

Second APEC Project Monitoring Report

April 2022

Provide second remote/virtual training on the new tool

Lessons learned documented in Final Report

March - May 2022

Develop model documentation

Model documentation

April 2022

Showcase tool at a regional conference and incorporate feedback.

Feedback from attendees added to Final Report

May 1, 2022

Submit Final Report and Model Documentation to APEC Secretariat

Review and approval of final documents

May - June 2022

Share tool with APEC economies, provide remote/virtual user orientation/training, showcase at a regional conference, and incorporate feedback. Prepare final report

Disseminate Final dDecision support tool, documentation, and Final Rreport

August 2022

Submit APEC Project Completion Report and supporting documents to APEC Secretariat

APEC Project Completion Report

June 2023

Participate in the Long-Term Evaluation of APEC Projects conducted by APEC Secretariat
Risks

Among risks faced by the Project may be the following:

·  Delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic or other uncontrollable events.

·  Timely identification and selection of a qualified consultant via APEC-issued RFP.

·  Detailed specification by the consultant team of the types of information required for water supplies and water treatment practices and for technical data for power generation plants that can be used in the decision support tool.

·  Identification of possible sources of information on water supply technologies and efficient power generation in APEC economies that may be included in the decision support tool.

·  Comparability of the data obtained from multiple sources so that it can be used in the decision-support tool.

·  Inability to obtain, from the examples analyzed, conclusions that are generic enough to provide lessons for technologies that enhance the water-energy balance.

·   Timely project completion and publication of the results.

·  Appropriate follow-up on implementation of the project recommendations to support widespread training and availability of the decision-support tool to relevant planners and system designers.

As the project progresses, additional risks may emerge requiring mitigation and management. The contractor selected to carry out the project will be required to focus on the risks and have a mitigation plan for each of them. The RFP will highlight the need for responders to clearly specify how they would plan to deal with each of the risks, and to identify other risks that they perceive might arise in the planning and implementation of the project.

The EGCFE has developed a set of criteria and scoring methodology for assessment of responses to RFPs and consultant selection. Use of this process facilitates an objective assessment of the proposals received by the EGCFE and achievement of consensus on the appropriate consultant selection. Following selection, the PSC and the consultant team selected to carry out the project will discuss such potential risks, as well as others that may be identified, and will work together to minimize them. Appropriate follow-up will be discussed in the EGCFE’s meetings.
Monitoring and Evaluation

The deliverables shown under Work Plan will provide a substantive measure of progress in carrying out the project. The results of the project will be shared with other international fora active in this area, including the IEA. As indicated above, the mandate of the consultant team will include identification of impacts on women. Longer-term success could be the influence of the results in affecting the trajectory of new coal power plant efficiencies.

The tool will be used to assess water strategies at a few thermal power generation or cogeneration facilities to validate its capabilities. The willingness of these facilities to participate in this assessment will be the key to gaining valuable feedback.

Progress on this project will be reported to the EWG and EGCFE and their feedback sought at their meetings. Such feedback will be an indicator of success in the short term. Longer-term measures of success will be use of the project results by APEC economies in supporting decision-making on balancing water demand across various sectors, including coal thermal power generation, of their economies. This could be monitored periodically, at several year intervals, following completion of the project, with the results analyzed and reported at EWG meetings.
Linkages

This project aligns with APEC’s Policy Partnership on Science, Technology, and Innovation (PPSTI) program and its 2016-2025 Strategic Plan. Those involved with the PPSTI program will be consulted during execution of the project, including briefings on its progress, and invited to take part in the planned training prior to the final reporting. 

The final report will be posted on the APEC, EGCFE, and EWG websites. The results of the project will also be shared with others active in this area, including international fora, such as the International Energy Agency. In addition, the results will be presented at an appropriate conference in the region by the Project Overseer or the selected consultant. This will help engage other relevant groups both within and outside APEC, including creating stronger interest in getting other organizations to use the tool and to possibly support possible follow-on work. 

At an appropriate time in this project, before proposing the next phase of tool development, additional funding will be sought to support follow-on training, both regionally and globally, from organizations involved and interested in the water-energy nexus. Some possible supporters including the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), energy and environmental foundations, individual electric utilities and water resource management companies, and governments in the region, especially developed economies’ development assistance agencies (e.g., Japan International Cooperation Agency, Korea International Cooperation Agency, and U.S. Agency for International Development). 

This work highly complements the previous EWG and EGCFE work in this area, with no overlap. Development of a decision support tool was a key recommendation of the completed EGCFE Water-Energy Nexus Workshop (EWG 07/2015). 

APEC is the best source of funds for this project as the Asia Pacific region has the largest capacity of existing, under construction, and planned coal thermal generation plants in the world and has major water-stressed regions.
Sustainability

The project’s long-term intended impacts are a) to put APEC economies that will continue to use coal for power generation and will possibly build new units in a position to operate those facilities as sustainably as possible, and b) to build professional capacity to achieving this. Long-term sustainability is a key EWG objective. The results of this project are likely to identify more detailed work needed on specific aspects of water availability and use for power generation in APEC economies, which could be the object of follow-on projects. The results may also more clearly identify barriers to water planning for power generation, including polices and regulations in some economies, and further APEC work may be needed.

It is anticipated that the project will attract the interest of other organizations, who could support follow-on training on the initial tool and further its capabilities, which could clearly demonstrate the value and importance of the tool.

Progress toward achieving the longer-term project outcomes will be monitored by the EGCFE, especially by periodically asking the selected consultant to report on training requests and use of the decision support tool. Also, EWG members should be asked to report on water-related policy and regulatory changes in their economies as part of their reporting of Energy Resiliency activities and Notable Energy Developments during EWG Meetings.
Project Overseers
The main point of contact for this project will be Scott M. Smouse, a Senior Advisor in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy, who is the EGCFE Chair. He will be supported by other DOE senior staff along with technical and administrative support contractors, as needed. Mr. Smouse has over 30-years’ experience in nearly every aspect of fossil energy use and power generation, especially coal-based technologies. From 1998 to 2015, he coordinated all USDOE National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL’s) international activities, including working with senior Department and other U.S. government officials on a wide variety of bilateral and multilateral initiatives and projects. He has worked with senior government officials, industry, and academia from over 60 countries on a wide range of cooperative research, development, and demonstration projects; technology and market assessments; technology transfer; and policy analyses, primarily related to fossil energy production and utilization. He has chaired the APEC’s Expert Group on Clean Fossil Energy for nearly 20 years. He has chaired the Executive Committee of the IEA Clean Coal Centre since 2018, and previously was its Vice Chair and a member of the U.S. Executive Committee. He also has served as the Lead Coordinator on Annex I: Advanced Power Systems and Annex IV: Energy & Environmental Control Technologies under the Fossil Energy Cooperation Protocol between U.S. DOE and China’s Ministry of Science & Technology (MOST) since 2001. Previously, he served a technical expert and U.S. representative on the Power Generation and Transmission and Cleaner Fossil Energy Task Forces of the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP). He was also the U.S. representative to the Power Working Group under the Global Superior Energy Performance Partnership of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM GSEP) and a member of the Executive Board of the U.S.-China Energy & Environmental Technology Center. Mr. Smouse also provided crosscutting support to Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF), especially establishment of the Capacity Building and Finance Task Forces. He was the lead author of the international sections of the 2010 report by the Carbon Capture & Storage Task Force to U.S. President Obama. For more than 2 decades, he coordinated USDOE National Energy Technology’s interactions with other organizations with international objectives, including United States Energy Association, World Energy Council, Atlantic Council, Edison Electric Institute, and multilateral development banks, and continues to interact with most of these organizations. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Fairmont State University and a M.S. in Fuel Science (Combustion) from Penn State University. He previously held several positions in the U.S. private sector, with Pope, Evans & Robbins, Inc.; DUSCO Division of Dearborn Chemical Company, a W.R. Grace subsidiary; and Babcock & Wilcox Company.
Cost Efficiency
Not Applicable.
Drawdown Timetable
Not Applicable.
Direct Labour

An open-tender process via an RFP will be undertaken for the consultancy on this project in accordance with APEC guidelines. The selected consultant will be responsible for delivery of the outputs described in the Work Plan according to the stipulated timetable, including developing the decision tool, providing remote/virtual training on the tool, providing documentation on the tool (either as part of the tool itself or a separate document) assisting in initial deployment of the tool, and providing informal progress reports during the project and a final report for publication at the end of the project. A critical task for the Contractor will be coordination with the Project Overseer to ensure that the objectives defined above are met and to ensure that relevant APEC policies and procedures are followed.

The tool is intended for use by various organizations within many of the APEC economies, but available to anyone having interest. There are no plans for the selected consultant to support decision-making processes outside of APEC economies. The consultant developing the tool will be charged with forgoing all IPR claims associated with the tool. APEC can share it with other organizations within APEC economies for their use free of any royalties. However, given that the tool will be in the public domain, any organization could use it as part of consultancy projects, which could include developing proposals to deliver engineering services and technology to reduce water consumption in specific facilities. This would further demonstrate the value of the tool beyond theoretical analyses towards providing solutions, including technology and policy, to water-energy nexus issues associated with competing uses of water. This is viewed as strong positive benefit of this project.

The version developed during the project, including refinements arising from the training sessions will be controlled by the consultant before its full release to createa user group in interested APEC economies who are sufficiently versed in the tool and its methodology so that they can use it for decision-making exercises. .  We will require the consultant to provide on-line   support to individual users needing assistance in using the tool  the period after training is complete and before the APEC Final Report is submitted to complete the project.  

While the tool will include typical equipment and labor costs or possibly typical ranges for these parameters to assess various water-saving technology options, this information will be site and situation dependent and will need to be adjusted as necessary by the users of the tool to reflect local factors. Hence, the tool is not a database, requiring maintenance/updating by the consultant. Also, should a user community develop around use of the tool, they could share non-confidential information on current typical equipment costs.
Waivers
Not Applicable.
Are there any supporting document attached?No