IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i13p4935-d1178750.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Financial Analysis of a Desalination–Wastewater Recycle Plant Powered by a DC-DC Photovoltaic-Batteries System on the Aeolian Islands, Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Gabriele Mosconi

    (Independent Researcher, 20832 Desio, Italy)

  • Maurizio F. Acciarri

    (Department of Materials Science and Solar Energy Research Centre MIB-SOLAR, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy)

Abstract

The scarcity of drinking water is an increasingly pressing issue in many regions of the world, even in areas up till now considered developed. Climate change deprives many populations of the amount of water necessary for human consumption and traditional crops. Therefore, finding new water sources and making their usage more efficient and able to adapt to new environmental conditions without worsening the situation with further pollution is becoming mandatory. In the case study considered here, set on the Italian island of Vulcano in the Central Mediterranean, we propose the economic analysis and financial sustainability of plants for the desalination and recycled wastewater, powered by a DC-DC photovoltaic tracker system with silicon crystal panels sustained by a daily pack of lithium batteries. We present an estimation of the necessary budget, and propose a mix of traditional and innovative financial instruments to construct and analyse the economic trends of the installations over 30 years, considering the specific area price levels, salaries and interest rates. Finally, through the net present value index, we evaluate the financial sustainability of the entire operation, namely, identifying the circumstances when funding and building these plants in areas as remote as the one considered here is cost-effective.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabriele Mosconi & Maurizio F. Acciarri, 2023. "Financial Analysis of a Desalination–Wastewater Recycle Plant Powered by a DC-DC Photovoltaic-Batteries System on the Aeolian Islands, Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-21, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:13:p:4935-:d:1178750
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/13/4935/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/13/4935/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vishwas Powar & Rajendra Singh, 2021. "Stand-Alone Direct Current Power Network Based on Photovoltaics and Lithium-Ion Batteries for Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-23, May.
    2. Marula Tsagkari & Jordi Roca Jusmet, 2020. "Renewable Energy Projects on Isolated Islands in Europe: A Policy Review," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 10(5), pages 21-30.
    3. Daniel Lugo-Laguna & Angel Arcos-Vargas & Fernando Nuñez-Hernandez, 2021. "A European Assessment of the Solar Energy Cost: Key Factors and Optimal Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-25, March.
    4. Kendall Mongird & Vilayanur Viswanathan & Patrick Balducci & Jan Alam & Vanshika Fotedar & Vladimir Koritarov & Boualem Hadjerioua, 2020. "An Evaluation of Energy Storage Cost and Performance Characteristics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-53, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andu Dukpa & Boguslaw Butrylo, 2022. "MILP-Based Profit Maximization of Electric Vehicle Charging Station Based on Solar and EV Arrival Forecasts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-14, August.
    2. Matthias Maldet & Daniel Schwabeneder & Georg Lettner & Christoph Loschan & Carlo Corinaldesi & Hans Auer, 2022. "Beyond Traditional Energy Sector Coupling: Conserving and Efficient Use of Local Resources," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-36, June.
    3. Zekai Xu & Jinghan He & Zhao Liu & Zhiyi Zhao, 2023. "Collaborative Optimization of Transmission and Distribution Considering Energy Storage Systems on Both Sides of Transmission and Distribution," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-23, July.
    4. Savolainen, Rebecka & Lahdelma, Risto, 2022. "Optimization of renewable energy for buildings with energy storages and 15-minute power balance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    5. King, Marcus & Jain, Anjali & Bhakar, Rohit & Mathur, Jyotirmay & Wang, Jihong, 2021. "Overview of current compressed air energy storage projects and analysis of the potential underground storage capacity in India and the UK," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    6. D'Adamo, Idiano & Gastaldi, Massimo & Morone, Piergiuseppe & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2022. "Economics and policy implications of residential photovoltaic systems in Italy's developed market," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Federica Rotondo & Francesca Abastante & Giancarlo Cotella & Isabella Maria Lami, 2020. "Questioning Low-Carbon Transition Governance: A Comparative Analysis of European Case Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-17, December.
    8. Pompodakis, Evangelos E. & Kryonidis, Georgios C. & Karapidakis, Emmanuel S., 2023. "Volt/Var control and energy management in non-interconnected insular networks with multiple hybrid power plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    9. Catarina Pinho Correia Valério Bernardo & Ricardo A. Marques Lameirinhas & João Paulo Neto Torres & António Baptista, 2023. "The Shading Influence on the Economic Viability of a Real Photovoltaic System Project," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-17, March.
    10. Martin Spiller & Corinna Müller & Zara Mulholland & Paraskevi Louizidou & Frithjof C. Küpper & Kevin Knosala & Peter Stenzel, 2022. "Reducing Carbon Emissions from the Tourist Accommodation Sector on Non-Interconnected Islands: A Case Study of a Medium-Sized Hotel in Rhodes, Greece," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-24, May.
    11. Jesús Fraile Ardanuy & Roberto Alvaro-Hermana & Sandra Castano-Solis & Julia Merino, 2022. "Carbon-Free Electricity Generation in Spain with PV–Storage Hybrid Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-20, June.
    12. Kebede, Abraham Alem & Kalogiannis, Theodoros & Van Mierlo, Joeri & Berecibar, Maitane, 2022. "A comprehensive review of stationary energy storage devices for large scale renewable energy sources grid integration," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    13. Gulam Smdani & Muhammad Remanul Islam & Ahmad Naim Ahmad Yahaya & Sairul Izwan Bin Safie, 2023. "Performance Evaluation Of Advanced Energy Storage Systems: A Review," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(4), pages 1094-1141, June.
    14. Dasí-Crespo, Daniel & Roldán-Blay, Carlos & Escrivá-Escrivá, Guillermo & Roldán-Porta, Carlos, 2023. "Evaluation of the Spanish regulation on self-consumption photovoltaic installations. A case study based on a rural municipality in Spain," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 788-802.
    15. Jiang, Zhu & Palacios, Anabel & Zou, Boyang & Zhao, Yanqi & Deng, Weiyu & Zhang, Xiaosong & Ding, Yulong, 2022. "A review on the fabrication methods for structurally stabilised composite phase change materials and their impacts on the properties of materials," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    16. Marula Tsagkari & Jordi Roca & Phedeas Stephanides, 2022. "Sustainability of local renewable energy projects: A comprehensive framework and an empirical analysis on two islands," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 1155-1168, October.
    17. Park, Musik & Wang, Zhiyuan & Li, Lanyu & Wang, Xiaonan, 2023. "Multi-objective building energy system optimization considering EV infrastructure," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 332(C).
    18. Illia Diahovchenko & Lubov Petrichenko, 2022. "Comparative Analysis of Power Distribution Systems with Individual Prosumers Owing Photovoltaic Installations and Solar Energy Communities in Terms of Profitability and Hosting Capacity," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-20, November.
    19. Julian David Hunt & Behnam Zakeri & Andreas Nascimento & Diego Augusto de Jesus Pacheco & Epari Ritesh Patro & Bojan Đurin & Márcio Giannini Pereira & Walter Leal Filho & Yoshihide Wada, 2023. "Isothermal Deep Ocean Compressed Air Energy Storage: An Affordable Solution for Seasonal Energy Storage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-18, March.
    20. Brian Jenkins & David Squires & John Barton & Dani Strickland & K. G. U. Wijayantha & James Carroll & Jonathan Wilson & Matthew Brenton & Murray Thomson, 2022. "Techno-Economic Analysis of Low Carbon Hydrogen Production from Offshore Wind Using Battolyser Technology," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-20, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:13:p:4935-:d:1178750. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.