Further investigation into the grid electricity sources of balancing areas reveals a tradeoff between CO2-eq emissions and water consumption based on electricity generation type (Fig. ); most electricity sources with relatively low CO2-eq emissions (e.g., those based on bio-, hydro-, or geothermal energy) exhibit high water consumption, and vice versa. This tradeoff also explains the different influences of electricity source on environmental impacts of the Redwood Materials refinement step and other pathways (Fig. ). However, the electricity sources for each balancing area will affect both CO2-eq emissions and water consumption. For example, because NEVP-based electricity includes a relatively large proportion (70%) from CO2-eq emissions-intensive natural gas with low water consumption, a switch to hydro-intensive (73%) BPAT electricity decreases CO2-eq emissions while increasing water consumption.