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HomeHydro-economic assessment of the potential of PV-RO desalinated seawater supply in the Mediterranean region
Modelling concept and analysis of water transport costs
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Seawater desalination, although a traditional source of water in arid and water-scarce regions, is receiving attention worldwide due to the growing concern on dwindling traditional water resources. Desalination entails significant energy consumption, which may be unsustainable when the latter is provided by fossil fuels. However, renewable energy sources may make desalination more attractive. Until now, desalination has been regarded as a local source of freshwater for coastal areas or islands, but the mapping of regions suitable to be supplied with desalinated seawater has been seldom addressed systematically. Caldera et al., 2016, present a global scale analysis based on a simplified representation of water demand and energy requirements for desalinated water production and transport, suggesting that desalinated seawater could be supplied in water-stressed regions of the world by 2030, using renewable energy only, at a cost between 0.59 and 2.81 Euro/m3. While their analysis provides general indications at global scale, the specificity of regions arising from topography, the distribution of population and land use may warrant a more detailed inspection. Appraising the potential of renewable energy seawater desalination as a water resource requires quantifying its costs of production (construction, operation and maintenance of desalination plants), as well as the costs of transporting desalinated water from the coastal production sites to potential users inland. In this contribution, we describe the cost elements concurring to the total cost of desalinated seawater, and we quantify the component of costs associated to water transport from a coastal production site to the final users inland. We limit our analysis to the case of using renewable energy, and specifically photovoltaic (PV) energy, to feed plants based on reverse osmosis (RO) technology, currently representing a common choice by desalination engineers. We develop our cost analysis assuming PV to contribute 100% of energy used in both production and transport of desalinated water. Finally, we outline the envisaged steps towards a prioritization of investments in desalination in the Mediterranean.
- Published:
- Personal author(s): Huld, T.A ; Salas Herrero, F ; Dorati, C ; Pistocchi, A
- Themes: Environment — Ecology
- Subject: costing , Mediterranean Sea , pipeline transport , research report , saltwater , sea , water resources , water supply , water treatment
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| ISSN 1831-9424 | ISBN 978-92-79-77211-5 | DOI 10.2760/8455 | Catalogue number KJ-NA-28982-EN-N |
- Released on EU publications website:
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