What’s the thirstiest industry in the United States? If you thought of agriculture, you’re spot on. But coming in second—guzzling 40 percent of U.S. freshwater withdrawals—is a surprisingly different undertaking: electricity.

Environmentally motivated researchers and policymakers are just beginning to grasp the importance of illuminating the complex relationship between water and energy, Sustainable Industries reports. The clock is ticking. By 2025, the United Nations forecasts half the world will meet with freshwater shortages. By 2050, upgrade that pinch to scarcity spanning three-quarters of the planet. And, oh, wouldn’t you know: All forms of energy production require water (and on the flip side, heating, treating, and distributing water requires energy too).

“Increased implementation of renewable power sources is key to securing future water supplies, but when it comes to water use, not all renewables are created equal,” writes Sara Stroud, SI’s Bay Area correspondent.

Wind and solar photovoltics are among the lesser offenders; they require only one gallon of water for each megawatt hour of electricity produced (excluding water used in manufacturing). (A megawatt is one million watts, and one megawatt hour could power 400-900 homes for that hour.) Compare that to corn-derived ethanol, which sucks anywhere from 5 to 2,000 liters of water for each liter of fuel. That higher number comes courtesy of agriculture undertaken in arid states, like California and Colorado.

“Federal incentives happened so quickly without evaluating consequences,” Dulce Fernandes of Network for New Energy Choices told SI. “If we are investing in alternatives, we have to get it right.”

Source: Sustainable Industries

The renewable energy industry is more dependent than ever on the direction of the currently ailing economy. Recent news items from Triple Pundit and New West offer different perspectives on the economic plight of renewable energy.

Triple Pundit states that future investment in renewable energy will create more jobs. TP’s Gina-Marie Cheeseman turns to a Berkeley report on the job-creating potential of the renewable energy industry. “Every $100 million invested in the renewable sector creates 2,700 new jobs. The report estimated that additional investment between 2007 and 2010 will be between $14 billion and $19 billion, which will create between 400,000 and 500,000 new jobs.”

Cheeseman extols the economically stimulating effect of renewable energy, noting that worldwide wind power capacity increased 50 percent between 2006 and 2007, while solar power accounts for forty percent of the capacity in developing countries.

This is a sunny forecast from a publication that looks at the business side of renewable energy. But New West is focusing on the ways that the credit collapse and global economic downturn has slowed the solar power industry. “Stock analysts have downgraded solar companies,” reports Richard Martin, and “Xcel Energy announced it is slashing the rebate it offers to homeowners installing new solar panels.”

Xcel is reducing its solar-panel rebate because Congress’ bailout package offers a generous tax credit to solar users. But the credit will take a while to implement, meaning a higher up-front cost. In an economy where homeowners are hurting, it’s hard for them to make the sort of long-term investment solar power entails.

Image courtesy of Pink Dispatcher, licensed by Creative Commons.

Finally, a little good news regarding the environment: A new report from the SUN DAY Campaign via EcoGeek reveals that renewable energy now makes up 10 percent of the domestically produced energy in the United States. Biomass and biofuels are in the lead, while hydroelectric comes in second and wind, geothermal, and solar energies trail far behind. But those energies with the smallest piece of the energy pie also have the most growth potential: wind power development is up almost 50 percent over its levels last year, and 2008 still has a few months to go. And, as reported earlier, geothermal energy is receiving much-needed attention and funding. Though investment in renewable energy still has a long way to go (especially after Congress caved on offshore drilling), the number is encouraging and shows a step in the right direction.

Image courtesy of  dervish , licensed under  Creative Commons .

Wind turbines are sprouting up on American Indian reservations across the country, Megan Gray reports in Cultural Survival Quarterly. On the Great Plains, where the wind blows mightily, a project called Intertribal COUP is promoting wind power on 20 reservations by helping tribes navigate the complex issues in renewable energy markets.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Gray reports, plans to install a 30-megawatt wind plant on its South Dakota land, where winds are rated class 5 and 6, the windiest end of the 1-to-6 scale used to measure wind potential. And over on the Pine Ridge Reservation, the nation’s largest Indian radio station, KILI-FM, on July 31 threw the switch on a new wind turbine that “cuts carbon emissions, saves one of country’s poorest reservations $12,000 per year, and points to the future of alternative energy in Indian Country,” according to a recent announcement.

Wind power is not only a step toward economic and energy self sufficiency for reservations, according to Pat Spears, vice president of Intertribal COUP; it also taps an ancient and mystical power source: “For many tribal peoples, the winds are holy, bringing renewal, warmth, and strength.”

Image of KILI-FM wind turbine by  Keri Pickett , courtesy of  Native Wind . 

Studies have shown that Americans are willing to pay more for energy from renewable sources. Now, the U.S. Department of Energy has made it easy to find green power sources near you.  Click on your state to see where you can purchase environmentally responsible electricity, including information on locations, pricing, and certification.

—Sarah Pumroy

(Thanks, Sierra Club.)