#water

Hydroelectric energy is generated by converting kinetic energy from water into electrical energy. To harness this power, enormous hydroelectric infrastructures are built to extract maximum power from this renewable emission-free, local resource. Learn all about it.

The planet keeps nudging us with increasingly extreme droughts, reminding us that water is life. It is an essential resource upon which all living beings depend and it is crucial to all social and economic development, as well as energy production and adaptation to climate change.

Water is an invisible ingredient in thousands of products we consume every day. For example, producing a single cup of coffee requires around 130 litres of water. Similarly, manufacturing a basic cotton T-shirt can consume between 2,000 and 3,000 litres of water throughout the supply chain, depending on the origin of the cotton, irrigation methods and manufacturing processes. These figures show just how dependent modern life is on water, even when we cannot see it. This impact can be understood through the concept of the water footprint, an indicator that measures how much freshwater is used to produce the goods and services we consume.

Salt water makes up over 97% of the water on the planet. Two thirds of the fresh water is trapped in glaciers and the polar ice caps, and most of the remaining third is in the ground or in underground aquifers. Conclusion: there is very little water available for living things.

We are facing a real water crisis that can only be solved with the sustainable consumption, promotion of clean energies, optimisation of production processes and the use of recycled water.

Iberdrola has taken out the first energy sector loan in Europe linked to water consumption. The five-year loan has been granted by Intesa Sanpaolo in the sum of 250 million euros. The operation includes an incentive linked to achieving circular...