By Rachel McMahon, Director of Regulatory Affairs

Water World Day took place on March 22nd and is a reminder of the water challenges that our world faces. We are in the midst of a water crisis and the Southwest US is no stranger to these issues. According to a recent article published on the Los Angeles Daily News by Gretchen McClain and H. David Nahai, California's water system, designed to supply water to 16 million people, struggles to serve nearly 40 million residents. Not only is the population demand for water increasing, the aging infrastructure is causing an annual 10% loss. 

In addition to many water conservation practices and investments that need to be made to our existing water infrastructure, placing a priority on adding renewable energy sources that use no water in power production – as many of them do – to the energy generation mix is one way to watch the water requirement levels from electricity production drop, while also reducing air and greenhouse gas pollution. CPV uses no water in power production, and thrives in sunny, hot, and arid desert climates, where water is scarcest.  In fact, the desert regions of the United States boast one of the best solar energy resources in the world.  Figure 1 below shows the areas of highest water constraint in the US.  Figure 2 below indicates the best solar energy resource in the United States.