A Comprehensive Economic and Environmental Analysis to Supply the Electricity Sector of the MED Desalination Unit Using Renewable Energies

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Environmental engineering department, Energy and environment faculty, Tehran University

2 School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

3 Department of Renewable Energy and Environment, Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies, University of Tehran

4 Water and Wastewater Engineering Group, Graduate Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22109/jemt.2024.421441.1478

Abstract

The main goal of the current research is to study the feasibility of using renewable hybrid systems and introducing the optimal configuration from a technical-economic and environmental point of view in supplying electrical energy for desalination plants (South of Iran). HOMER analyzer software is used to simulate the load and introduce renewable systems to provide part of the energy of this complex. The electrical energy required for this complex to produce approximately 300 cubic meters of fresh water per hour is estimated at approximately 5.5 kilowatt-hours per cubic meter. Currently, this energy is supplied only through the power grid, which has a cost equivalent to 0.088 dollars per kilowatt-hour. In the following, the possible scenarios are introduced and compared in two modes, grid-off and grid-connected. The optimal off-grid configuration with an initial cost of $65.8 million will have an electricity cost of 12 cents/kWh, with 37% of the energy needed coming from wind and solar energy. In the state connected to the grid, the optimal configuration provides 44% of the required electrical energy through renewable energy, which reduces the carbon dioxide emissions by 4527 tons per year, and by selling excess electricity to the grid, the cost of energy is decreased to $0.078/kWh, which means that the cost of electricity needed to supply each cubic meter of freshwater falls down about 11.4%. Also, 47% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Journal of Energy Management and Technology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 29 January 2024

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History

  • Receive Date: 02 December 2023
  • Revise Date: 21 January 2024
  • Accept Date: 29 January 2024

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