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Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy / Volume 4 / Issue 1 / REGULAR ARTICLES

J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 013108 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3682060 (15 pages)

Potential role of renewable energy in water desalination in Australia

Ben Rowlinson1, Don Gunasekera2, and Alberto Troccoli2

1Faculty of Science, Monash University, Clayton, 3800, VIC, Australia
2Marine and Atmospheric Research Division, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Canberra 2601, Australia

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(Received 23 September 2011; accepted 21 December 2011; published online 8 February 2012)

With projected increases in population and urbanisation in Australia, the sustainable supply of water and energy over the medium to long term will be an important challenge. In this context, meeting a part of the growing demand for urban water may involve reliance upon desalinated water in the future. Moreover, the feasibility and viability of renewable energy sources for water desalination will be of policy importance, particularly in a potentially low carbon Australian economy. In this article, we analyse the potential applicability of solar and wind energy to provide power for water desalination. In two illustrative examples, we assess the feasibility of supplying 3% of Sydney’s projected total water consumption (supplied at an average rate of 24.7 Gl/yr) and 5% of Sydney’s projected water consumption (supplied at an average rate of 32.7 Gl/yr) over a 15-yr period (2011–2025) using a photovoltaic (PV) solar powered (130 MW) and a hybrid (PV solar and wind energy) powered (205 MW) reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plants, respectively. In addition to supplying cleaner energy, the renewable energy sources considered in this article have additional cost advantages in the presence of a carbon penalty. For example, at hypothetical carbon penalty rates of $20/tCO2 and $30/tCO2, the estimated cost savings—in net present value (NPV) terms assuming a discount rate of 4.2%—of the PV solar (hybrid) plant will amount to around be $18.7 m ($25.2 m) and $28.0 m ($37.9 m), respectively, over the 15-yr period, relative to a situation where the desalination plant is instead being powered by black coal. Under a discount rate of 8.4%, the cost savings of the PV solar (hybrid) plant associated with carbon penalty rates of $20/tCO2 and $30/tCO2 are estimated to be around $12.8 m ($17.6 m) and $19.2 m ($26.4 m), respectively, in NPV terms. Our analysis also shows that in addition to providing the required power supply for the illustrative desalination plants, the renewable energy supply sources analysed here would produce excess electricity that could be sold to a nearby grid. Consequently, assuming a wholesale electricity price of $36.74/MWh, the PV solar plant and the hybrid renewable plant are estimated to have the capacity to earn around $63.9 million and $110.0 million in NPV terms, respectively, over the 15-yr period, through excess electricity sales. Under a discount rate of 8.4%, the value of the excess electricity sales of the PV solar plant and the hybrid renewable plant are estimated to be around $54.5 million and $91.7 million, respectively, in NPV terms.

© 2012 American Institute of Physics

Article Outline

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. URBAN WATER USE AND DESALINATION
    1. Urban water consumption
    2. Importance of desalination
    3. Desalination technologies
  3. ROLE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN WATER DESALINATION
    1. Possible options of RE-D processes
    2. Illustrative example of RE-D with photovoltaic-RO
    3. Illustrative example of RE-D with hybrid-RO
  4. DRIVERS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY COMPETITIVENESS
    1. Technological improvements and learning-by-doing
    2. Renewable energy related government polices and carbon penalty
    3. Improvements in desalination technologies
  5. CONCLUDING REMARKS

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KEYWORDS, PACS, and IPC

Keywords

desalination, power grids, reverse osmosis, solar power, wind power

PACS

International Patent Classification (IPC)

  • B01D37/00

    Processes of filtration

  • B01D61/02

    Reverse osmosis; Hyperfiltration

  • C02

    Treatment of water, waste water, sewage, or sludge

ARTICLE DATA

Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3682060

PUBLICATION DATA

ISSN

1941-7012 (online)

Publisher

$abstract.society.value is a Member of CrossRef American Institute of Physics

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