The importance of digitalization of water and energy systems and environmental sustainability

Across the energy and water sectors, the application of digital technologies (e.g., information and communication technologies, big data, artificial intelligence, internet of things, smart meters, digital twins, cloud computing, etc.) can improve services, efficiency and resilience, and productivity; thus, can protect environmental quality. In addition to several benefits, digitalization may introduce some challenges. This study briefly reviews the digitalization of water and energy systems and the digitalization impacts on environmental sustainability to identify the knowledge gaps and solutions. In order to achieve desired outcomes and improved environmental quality, it is better to merge digitalization and environmental policies.

Keywords:

Digitalization , Water , Energy , Environmental sustainability