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Evaluation of the economics of desalination by integrating greenhouse gas emission costs: An empirical application for Chile

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  • Molinos-Senante, María
  • González, Diego

Abstract

Desalinated water is an alternative and feasible water source that can help solve water scarcity problems. However, most desalination plants are operated using fossil fuels, which contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To face the problem of climate change, many countries are developing policies that promote renewable energy for electricity production. These policies might impact desalination costs. This paper proposes a methodology to evaluate the economics of desalination by integrating investment costs, operational and maintenance costs, and GHG emissions costs. This method will enable us to determine the impact of renewable energy polices on desalination costs. The empirical application was developed for Chile, a country with a promising future in renewable energy, and revealed that the full costs of desalinated water decrease by approximately 22% when the current electricity production mix is changed to predominantly renewable energy production. Moreover, this application illustrated the relevance of adopting a carbon tax to motivate the switch to renewable energy. This study demonstrates that the adoption of renewable energy policies involves a notable synergy with water issues.

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  • Molinos-Senante, María & González, Diego, 2019. "Evaluation of the economics of desalination by integrating greenhouse gas emission costs: An empirical application for Chile," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 1327-1337.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:133:y:2019:i:c:p:1327-1337
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.09.019
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    1. Lorena Cornejo-Ponce & Patricia Vilca-Salinas & María Janet Arenas-Herrera & Claudia Moraga-Contreras & Héctor Tapia-Caroca & Stavros Kukulis-Martínez, 2022. "Small-Scale Solar-Powered Desalination Plants: A Sustainable Alternative Water-Energy Nexus to Obtain Water for Chile’s Coastal Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-38, December.
    2. Esmaeil Ahmadi & Benjamin McLellan & Behnam Mohammadi-Ivatloo & Tetsuo Tezuka, 2020. "The Role of Renewable Energy Resources in Sustainability of Water Desalination as a Potential Fresh-Water Source: An Updated Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-31, June.
    3. Bar-Nahum, Ziv & Reznik, Ami & Finkelshtain, Israel & Kan, Iddo, 2022. "Centralized water management under lobbying: Economic analysis of desalination in Israel," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    4. Ailliot, Pierre & Boutigny, Marie & Koutroulis, Eftichis & Malisovas, Athanasios & Monbet, Valérie, 2020. "Stochastic weather generator for the design and reliability evaluation of desalination systems with Renewable Energy Sources," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 541-553.

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