The Energy-water Nexus: A literature Review of the Dependence of Energy on Water

The nexus between water and energy will become increasingly important to the urban energy systems, for both resources’ demands are expected to grow with the increasing population and economic growth. This paper reviews the dependence of energy on water and focuses on two areas of this research field - how does energy depend on water and what factors can affect this dependence? Firstly, it reviews the existing literature on energy dependence on water in terms of energy type. Secondly, it explores the literature on the influential factors of energy's dependence on water. Thirdly, it summarizes the current research methods. Finally, the main advances and the gaps in the current literature are summarized according to previous research. It is particularly important to understand the dependence of energy on water through the literature review and the final findings to enable the implementation of more efficient and effective infrastructure systems that will conserve more resources.