Solar Rich and Water Poor: The Case for Solar Desalination in El Paso, Texas

Solar desalination: Cases, synthesis, and challenges

“…Fornarelli et al () go further by adding battery storage to this combination. On the other hand, the PV‐driven desalination plant could solely use the grid as a backup power source as proposed in Delgado et al () and Alsheghri et al (). This method has proven successful; for example, a desalination plant near Perth, Australia relies on an offsite grid‐connected wind farm to supply an amount of energy notably larger than the plant requires (Zarzo & Prats, ).…”

“…There are many models that forecast the production of erratic RE sources such as wind and solar power, and these are quintessential to determine the efficacy of investing in these assets to power operations as energy‐intensive as desalination (Adaramola et al, ; Alsheghri et al, ; Delgado et al, ; Fornarelli et al, ; Shahzad et al, ; Tal, ). Both the HOMER and RETScreen models, which the three of the four cases used, offer similar built‐in features and are widely available for public use under license (HOMER Energy, n.d.; Natural Resources Canada, n.d.; Open EI, n.d.).…”

“…Both the HOMER and RETScreen models, which the three of the four cases used, offer similar built‐in features and are widely available for public use under license (HOMER Energy, n.d.; Natural Resources Canada, n.d.; Open EI, n.d.). These models appear widely in the published literature on RE modeling (Adaramola et al, ; Alsheghri et al, ; Delgado et al, ; Fornarelli et al, ). Common features of HOMER and RETScreen include: (a) information on average wind and solar insolation at locations throughout the world from NASA satellite data and/or ground monitoring stations, (b) equipment installation cost parameters, (c) equipment operation and maintenance cost parameters, (d) expected production from energy sources throughout the project's lifetime, and (e) predicted greenhouse gas emissions from energy sources (HOMER Energy, n.d.; Natural Resources Canada, n.d.; Open EI, n.d.; Adaramola et al, ; Alsheghri et al, ; Delgado et al, ; Fornarelli et al, ).…”

“…Delgado et al () studied whether a grid‐interconnected photovoltaic (PV) solar array would be financially viable to supply some of the electricity needs of the Kay Bailey Hutchison (KBH) brackish groundwater reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant in El Paso, Texas (Table , Figure ). To conduct their analysis, Delgado et al () used the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) model developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).…”

“…Delgado et al () studied whether a grid‐interconnected photovoltaic (PV) solar array would be financially viable to supply some of the electricity needs of the Kay Bailey Hutchison (KBH) brackish groundwater reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant in El Paso, Texas (Table , Figure ). To conduct their analysis, Delgado et al () used the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) model developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The HOMER model provided an inflation‐adjusted financial picture over the course of the project's lifetime by incorporating NASA solar insolation data to predict expected electricity production for solar arrays in El Paso; HOMER combined this with cost data for solar modules, grid‐electricity price figures, and grid feed‐in tariffs (Adaramola, Paul, & Oyewola, ; Delgado et al, ).…”