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Impact of solar energy cost on water production cost of seawater desalination plants in Egypt

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  • Lamei, A.
  • van der Zaag, P.
  • von Münch, E.

Abstract

Many countries in North Africa and the Middle East are experiencing localized water shortages and are now using desalination technologies with either reverse osmosis (RO) or thermal desalination to overcome part of this shortage. Desalination is performed using electricity, mostly generated from fossil fuels with associated greenhouse gas emissions. Increased fuel prices and concern over climate change are causing a push to shift to alternative sources of energy, such as solar energy, since solar radiation is abundant in this region all year round. This paper presents unit production costs and energy costs for 21 RO desalination plants in the region. An equation is proposed to estimate the unit production costs of RO desalination plants as a function of plant capacity, price of energy and specific energy consumption. This equation is used to calculate unit production costs for desalinated water using photovoltaic (PV) solar energy based on current and future PV module prices. Multiple PV cells are connected together to form a module or a panel. Unit production costs of desalination plants using solar energy are compared with conventionally generated electricity considering different prices for electricity. The paper presents prices for both PV and solar thermal energy. The paper discusses at which electricity price solar energy can be considered economical to be used for RO desalination; this is independent of RO plant capacity. For countries with electricity prices of 0.09Â US$/kWh, solar-generated electricity (using PV) can be competitive starting from 2Â US$/Wp (Wp is the number of Watts output under standard conditions of sunlight). For Egypt (price of 0.06Â US$/kWh), solar-generated electricity starts to be competitive from 1Â US$/Wp. Solar energy is not cost competitive at the moment (at a current module price for PV systems including installation of 8Â US$/Wp), but advances in the technology will continue to drive the prices down, whilst penalties on usage of fossil fuel will increase electricity costs from conventional non-renewable sources. Solar thermal is cheaper (at a current price of 0.06Â US$/kWh) than PV; however, PV is more appropriate for Egypt (for the time being) as it is more applicable to the smaller RO plant sizes found in Egypt (up to 5Â MW; 10,000-15,000Â m3/d product water capacity). We would expect that there will be a shift towards more centralized RO plants (larger size) in Egypt, to tackle the increasing water shortage, and this would then favor the adoption of solar thermal energy in the near future.

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  • Lamei, A. & van der Zaag, P. & von Münch, E., 2008. "Impact of solar energy cost on water production cost of seawater desalination plants in Egypt," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1748-1756, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:36:y:2008:i:5:p:1748-1756
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    1. Kasaeian, Alibakhsh & Rajaee, Fatemeh & Yan, Wei-Mon, 2019. "Osmotic desalination by solar energy: A critical review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1473-1490.
    2. Omar, Amr & Nashed, Amir & Li, Qiyuan & Leslie, Greg & Taylor, Robert A., 2020. "Pathways for integrated concentrated solar power - Desalination: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    3. Mokri, Alaeddine & Aal Ali, Mona & Emziane, Mahieddine, 2013. "Solar energy in the United Arab Emirates: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 340-375.
    4. Gude, Veera Gnaneswar & Nirmalakhandan, Nagamany & Deng, Shuguang, 2010. "Renewable and sustainable approaches for desalination," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 2641-2654, December.
    5. Atef A. El-Saiad & Hany F. Abd-Elhamid & Zeinab I. Salama & Martina Zeleňáková & Erik Weiss & Emad H. El-Gohary, 2021. "Improving the Hydraulic Effects Resulting from the Use of a Submerged Biofiter to Enhance Water Quality in Polluted Streams," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-15, November.
    6. Khan, Meer A.M. & Rehman, S. & Al-Sulaiman, Fahad A., 2018. "A hybrid renewable energy system as a potential energy source for water desalination using reverse osmosis: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 456-477.
    7. Parida, Bhubaneswari & Iniyan, S. & Goic, Ranko, 2011. "A review of solar photovoltaic technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 1625-1636, April.
    8. Chen, Yih-Hang & Li, Yu-Wei & Chang, Hsuan, 2012. "Optimal design and control of solar driven air gap membrane distillation desalination systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 193-204.
    9. Okampo, Ewaoche John & Nwulu, Nnamdi, 2021. "Optimisation of renewable energy powered reverse osmosis desalination systems: A state-of-the-art review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    10. Ihsan Ullah & Mohammad G. Rasul, 2018. "Recent Developments in Solar Thermal Desalination Technologies: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-31, December.
    11. Angelica Liponi & Claretta Tempesti & Andrea Baccioli & Lorenzo Ferrari, 2020. "Small-Scale Desalination Plant Driven by Solar Energy for Isolated Communities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-16, July.
    12. Shalaby, S.M., 2017. "Reverse osmosis desalination powered by photovoltaic and solar Rankine cycle power systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 789-797.

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