The most water - efficient energy sources are natural gas (though we may be just about
out of it) and synthetic fuels produced by coal gasification; the least efficient are ethanol and biodiesel — the
biofuels just can't catch a break these days, can they?Water use winners and losers The research pair analyzed 11 types of energy sources, including coal, fuel ethanol, natural gas, and oil; and five power generating methods, including hydroelectric, fossil fuel thermoelectric, and nuclear methods; in terms of power
generation, Younos and Hill have found that geothermal and hydroelectric energy types use the least amount of water, while nuclear plants use the most.