Securing future water supply for Iran through 100% renewable energy powered desalination

Iran is the 17th most populated country in the world with several regions facing high or extremely high water stress. It is estimated that half the population live in regions with 30% of Iran’s freshwater resources. The combination of climate change, increasing water demand and mismanagement of water resources is forecasted to worsen the situation. This paper shows how the future water demand of Iran can be secured through seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants powered by 100% renewable energy systems (RES), at a cost level competitive with that of current SWRO plants powered by fossil plants in Iran. The optimal hybrid RES for Iran is found to be a combination of solar photovoltaics (PV) fixed-tilted, PV single-axis tracking, Wind, Battery and Power-to-Gas (PtG) plants. The levelised cost of water (LCOW) is found to lie between 1.0 €/m3 – 3.5 €/m3, depending on renewable resource availability and water transportation costs

Role of Seawater Desalination in the Management of an Integrated Water and 100% Renewable Energy Based Power Sector in Saudi Arabia

This work presents a pathway for Saudi Arabia to transition from the 2015 power structure to a 100% renewable energy-based system by 2050 and investigates the benefits of integrating the power sector with the growing desalination sector. Saudi Arabia can achieve 100% renewable energy power system by 2040 while meeting increasing water demand through seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) and multiple effect distillation (MED) desalination plants. The dominating renewable energy sources are PV single-axis tracking and wind power plants with 243 GW and 83 GW, respectively. The levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of the 2040 system is 49 €/MWh and decreases to 41 €/MWh by 2050. Corresponding levelised cost of water (LCOW) is found to be 0.8 €/m3 and 0.6 €/m3. PV single-axis tracking dominates the power sector. By 2050 solar PV accounts for 79% of total electricity generation. Battery storage accounts for 41% of total electricity demand. In the integrated scenario, due to flexibility provided by SWRO plants, there is a reduced demand for battery storage and power-to-gas (PtG) plants as well as a reduction in curtailment. Thus, the annual levelised costs of the integrated scenario is found to be 1–3% less than the non-integrated scenario

The role of solar PV, wind energy, and storage technologies in the transition toward a fully sustainable energy system in Chile by 2050 across power, heat, transport and desalination sectors

Renewable energies will play a significant role in a sustainable energy system in order to match the goal under the Paris Agreement. However, to achieve the goal it will be necessary to find the best country pathway, with global repercussion. This study reveals that an energy system based on 100% renewable resources in Chile could be technically feasible and even more cost-efficient than the current system. The Chilean energy system transition would imply a high level of electrification across all sectors, direct and indirectly. Simulation results using the LUT Energy System Transition model show that the primary electricity demand would rise from 31.1 TWh to 231 TWh by 2050, which represent about 78% of the total primary energy demand. Renewable electricity will mainly come from solar PV and wind energy technologies. Solar PV and wind energy installed capacities across all sectors would increase from 1.1 GW and 0.8 GW in 2015 to 43.6 GW and 24.8 GW by 2050, respectively. In consequence, the levelised cost of energy will be reduced in about 25%. Moreover, the Chilean energy system in 2050 would emit zero greenhouse gases. Additionally, Chile would become a country free of energy imports