Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Techno-economic evaluation of a solar powered

water desalination plant
G. Fiorenza, V.K. Sharma *, G. Braccio
ENEA Centro Ricerche Trisaia, ERG/FORI/BIOM, Policoro (MT), 75026 Rotondella, Italy
Received 11 July 2002; accepted 28 October 2002

Abstract
Water desalination technologies and their possible coupling with solar energy have been evaluated. The
topic is of particular interest, especially for countries located within the Southern Mediterranean belt,
generally characterized with vast arid and isolated areas having practically no access to electric power from
the national grid. Economic factors being one of the main barriers to diusion of solar devices so far, an
attempt has been made to estimate the water production cost for two dierent seawater desalination systems: reverse osmosis and multiple eect, powered by a solar thermal and a photovoltaic eld, respectively.
The results obtained for plants of capacity varying between 500 and 5000 m3 /d have been compared to
results concerning a conventional desalination system. In addition, the inuences of various parameters,
such as depreciation factor, economic incentives, PV modules cost and oil price, have also been considered.

2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Water demand; Desalination technologies; Energy requirements; Solar thermal and photovoltaic systems;
Remote areas; Economic analysis

1. Introduction
As of today, nearly one fourth of mankind is suering from inadequate fresh water supply.
Owing to the foreseen growth of population worldwide (especially in the developing countries),
the above mentioned situation will be more and more critical over the next two decades or so.
Desalination of brackish or sea water now represents a consolidated system to resolve the water
emergency. The main drawback of this solution, however, remains the high energy consumption.
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +39-0835-974220; fax: +39-0835-974210.

E-mail address: sharma@trisaia.enea.it (V.K. Sharma).

0196-8904/02/$ - see front matter
2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0196-8904(02)00247-9

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

Considering the limited availability, high cost and, above all, the negative environmental impacts caused mainly due to their use, it is imperative to search for new alternative sources to
supplement or substitute for conventional fuels. In view of the problems mentioned above, it is
not surprising that moves are afoot to use renewable energy resources, in addition to the traditional one for water desalination, but the fact remains that even at present, mainly because of
very high cost (almost twice that of a conventional system), such solution has been practised on a
low scale. In spite of the aforesaid economic restraints, it is worth exploring the potentialities of
using solar energy, since its peculiar features appear to be most appropriate for this particular
aim.
In the case of a medium capacity desalination plant (approximately 1000 m3 /d), the production of desalted water using solar energy could be realized using both solar thermal and
photovoltaic systems coupled with a reverse osmosis or multiple eect plant, respectively. Since
expensivenesses is the greatest hindrance to solar energy applications, the main objective of the
present work is to estimate the water production cost for the above mentioned two technological
options, when varying the capacity and using solar radiation data of the Southern Mediterranean area.
By evaluating separately the eect of xed and running expenses, it can be proved that the water
production cost is strongly aected by the huge initial investment. So, it is equally important to
evaluate separately how the parameters, such as amortization rate, incentives, cost of solar
technology etc., inuence the xed costs deeply. In addition, it is necessary to investigate other
parameters both technical and economic, causing the cost of each cubic meter of water from a
conventional system to be particularly high. In most isolated areas, with scarce or no access at all
to the electric grid, the traditional technology is represented by a reverse osmosis plant powered
by a Diesel or gas engine. In this case, the high cost of fuel can make solar systems competitive.
Finally, numerous developments foreseen over the next few years that could have positive implications on the cost of water produced using solar energy are also considered.

2. Water requirements
The data relevant to water requirements shows that around 25% of the total world population
do not have an adequate fresh water supply, both for quality and quantity. Although the water
emergency concerns nearly 80 countries, the situation is certainly very alarming, especially in
countries located within the Southern Mediterranean belt. Drought and desertication are increasing signicantly, involving wider and wider areas of the planet. It is true that as of today,
countries from Southern Europe are partially aected by the lack of drinking water, but to avoid
serious negative impacts in the very near future, it is advisable to take appropriate actions as soon
as possible.
Based upon the investigations conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), it is to be
noted that annual water availability of 1000 m3 per capita constitutes the limit below which it will
not be possible to guarantee an acceptable living standard as well as economic development of a
country [1]. As shown in Table 1, the global picture will become more serious if the forecasts made
by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the overall increase in world population are
taken into consideration [2].

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2219

Table 1
Distribution of population worldwide during the years (millions of inhabitants) [2]
Year

USA

EU

Africa

Asia

Total

1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050

158
186
210
230
254
278
298
317
333
343
349

296
316
341
356
365
376
376
371
362
349
332

221
277
357
467
615
784
973
1187
1406
1595
1766

1377
1668
2101
2586
3114
3683
4136
4545
4877
5118
5268

2522
3022
3696
4440
5266
6055
6795
7502
8112
8577
8909

It is to be observed that the world population, actually a little more than 6 billions, should touch
an unimaginable gure of nearly 8 and 9 billions during the year 2025 and 2050, respectively. It is
estimated that the population increase over the next 20 years (20002020) will be around 50% in
Africa, 25% in Asia, 14% in the USA and, surprisingly, 2% negative, in Europe. It is obvious from
the above mentioned gures that a considerable increase in the world population (over the next
decade or so) will be concentrated mainly in most of the developing countries and particularly in
Africa, causing severe water shortages.
In a number of South Mediterranean countries (with vast desert or semi-desert areas), the water
reserves per capita, already very limited, are destined to be reduced further. The data relevant to
the population and available water per capita on an annual basis (for all uses) during the period
19601990 is presented in Table 2. Also, the predictions made by both the World Resources
Institute (WRI) and World Bank for the year 2020 are quoted [3].

Table 2
Population (thousands of inhabitants) and yearly water availability (m3 per capita) in the South Mediterranean [2,3]
Country

1960

Saudi Arabia
Libya
Malta
Yemen
Jordan
United Arab Emirates
Syria
Israel
Tunisia
Algeria
Oman
Egypt
Morocco
Total

4075
1349
312
5247
763
90
4561
2114
4221
10,800
558
27,840
11,626
75,516

1990
537
538
100
481
529
3000
1196
1024
1036
1704
4000
2251
2650
1751

16,045
4416
354
11,590
3306
1921
12,386
4660
8156
24,936
1785
56,333
23,931
171,809

2020
156
154
75
214
224
189
439
467
532
737
1333
1112
1185
760

36,424
8103
427
34,190
8204
3170
24,555
7952
12,254
43,853
4719
90,491
36,742
313,104

54
59
76
82
100
117
172
324
334
376
477
682
685
393

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

It is to be noted that due to the high population increase in the aforesaid period, the water
resources have been strongly reduced. Moreover, the foreseen decrease over the following thirty
years or so ()48%) will make water availability during the year 2020 even less than the minimum
recommended by the WHO. The situation will certainly be worse, with an annual availability of
less than 200 m3 per capita, at least in a majority of the countries listed in Table 2.
In order to face the current as well as future drastic water shortage problems, most of these
countries have already engaged in alternative solutions, such as desalination. Considering the fact
that nearly 97.5% of the total reserve of water on the planet is salty, while the remaining share is
almost frozen or located in underground basins and, thus, practically inaccessible, seawater desalination appears to be very important. Resources of eective drinking water available correspond to around 0.007% of the water present on earth globally.
It is to be noted that so far as renewable water resources are concerned, thanks to the rain,
nearly 42,655 billion m3 of water (annually), i.e. on average, more than 7000 m3 of fresh water
available for each inhabitant on the planet, is simply poured into the rivers. Unfortunately, with
the non-uniform distribution of such resources on the terrestrial surface, even using all dierent
means available, it has not been possible to exploit more than one third of the above mentioned
amount. Moreover, the increased water contamination caused due to progressive industrialization
and urbanization will certainly reduce this amount further.
In conclusion, the accessible drinkable water resources on earth are limited, whereas renewable
ones will simply not be sucient to cover a fairly distributed requirement. Since this picture is
destined to get worse over the next decade or so, the sea represents the only reserve from which it
is possible to draw new and huge resources of pure water.

3. Desalination technologies: a review

The rst attempts to produce fresh water from salty water (based on the principle used for the
renewal of natural water on the planet through rain, i.e. heating of water containing salt up to
evaporation and subsequent condensation of vapor to get distilled water) started in the beginning
of the 20th century. For example, a multiple eect plant with an overall water production capacity
of 75 m3 /d was realized in Egypt during the year 1912. Anyway, it was only during the year 1957
that desalination technology was applied on the industrial scale, when the very rst four stage
multi-ash desalination plant was built in Kuwait.
In the proceeding years, however, rapid development of this technology was observed with the
realization of the Shuwaikh plant in Kuwait (19 stages and 4550 m3 /d) and the Guernsey plant in
the Islands of the Channel (40 stages and 2775 m3 /d). Since then, considerable progress has been
made. Single multiple/ash desalination plants of capacity 50,000 m3 /d, are operating now. Especially, it was after the year 1970 that the reverse osmosis technology (thanks to the modular
structure of plants) got a remarkable growth with the possibility of reaching an installed capacity
of more than 100,000 m3 /d [4].
According to the data made available by the International Desalination Association (IDA) the
overall worldwide installation, distributed over almost 120 countries (with production capacity of
nearly 26 million m3 /d and number of plants, actually operating or ready for production),
amounts to more than 12,500 installations [5].

G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

2221

30

Capacity (millions of m/d)

25
20
15
10
5
0
1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

Year

Fig. 1. Worldwide installed desalination capacity since rst applications on the industrial scale [5].

Fig. 1 presents the overall installed capacity worldwide with time [6]. After an interlocutory
phase, especially after the year 1970, a noteworthy growth (almost constant) has been observed.
According to recent predictions, this trend is to be continued in the near future, as well. It is to be
noted that for installation of new plants worldwide (within the next ve years or so), a big investment of more than 10 billion US$, with an overall net increase in the production of desalted
water above 5 million m3 /d, is foreseen [7]. As regards the type of resource treated, nearly 65% of
the overall installed capacity has been realized through seawater desalination plants and the remaining 35% brackish water (with a percentage of total dissolved solids (TDS) inferior to 10,000
ppm) with other applications [6].
The technologies used on the industrial scale are generally classied into the following categories:
Thermal processes
1. multi-ash (MSF);
2. multiple eect evaporation (MEE);
3. mechanical vapor compression (MVC).
Membrane technologies
1. reverse osmosis (RO);
2. electrodialysis (ED).
Fig. 2 illustrates the market share during the year 2000 for the dierent technologies [6]. It
can be observed that processes such as MSF and RO cover most of the overall worldwide
production (44% and 42%, respectively). It is, however, to be noted that the progress of MSF
technology over the last couple of years, is rather slow. Contrary, RO has gained signicant
market share.

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

ED
6%

MEE
4%

VC
4%

MEE
6%

(a)
MSF
44%

VC
6%

(b)

RO
18%

RO
42%

MSF
70%

Fig. 2. Desalination technologies market share: (a) all applications; (b) seawater only [5].

The contribution from the various technologies changes radically if seawater desalination only
is taken into consideration. In this case, the relative percentages of the MSF and RO processes
becomes 70% and 18%, respectively. Here, other thermal processes also earn importance.
The principal characteristics of the dierent desalination technologies are presented in Table 3.
Here, extrapolation is made on the basis of the data reported in Refs. [8,9]. The analysis is limited
to large scale seawater desalination plants that as seen above, in addition to the present specic
interest, constitute the most fruitful future application of this technology. It is to be noted that
ED, which is most appropriate for desalination of water with low salt concentration (up to 5000
ppm of TDS), could not be applied for seawater desalination with salinity concentration of
around 35,000 ppm.
Capacities superior to those shown in Table 3 could be achieved through the disposition of
more units in parallel. Particularly, in the case of RO, it is simple and, hence, more convenient to
connect a large number of modules, thus, enabling a single plant to reach a capacity over 100,000
m3 /d.
The consumptions and costs (dependent upon the temperature and salinity of feed water) refer
to large sized plants only. It is worth noting that the percentage of TDS in seawater, practically
non-inuential especially in thermal processes, has a remarkable eect in reverse osmosis where
the energy demand (for a xed quality of the product obtained) increases linearly at a rate of more
than 1 kW h/m3 per 10,000 ppm. If, on the other hand, the input pressures are left unchanged, the
percentage of salts in the water produced could be intolerably high. Normally, this value for

Table 3
Thermoeconomic features of the desalination technologies [7,8]
Technology
3

Typical average capacity (m /d)

Maximum average capacity (m3 /d)
Thermal energy consumption (kW h/m3 )
Electric energy consumption (kW h/m3 )
Equivalent electric energy consumption (kW h/m3 )
Cost of plant ($/(m3 /d))
Production cost ($/m3 )

MSF

MEE

MVC

RO

25,000
50,000
80
4
15
1300
1.1

10,000
20,000
60
2
7
1200
0.8

3000
5000

7
7
1000
0.7

6000
10,000

5
5
1000
0.7

G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

2223

the RO process is expected to be around 300 ppm. The value, though lying well within the limit of
500 ppm (xed by the WHO for the drinking water), still results in being at least one order of
magnitude higher than the salinity of water from thermal processes.
The equivalent electricity consumption has been estimated assuming simply that the required thermal energy corresponds to the electric energy obtainable from the expansion of the
vapor in a turbine (with a xed eciency of 0.85) over the useful temperature range of 100
and 70 C (MSF and MEE) up to a nal value of 40 C. This is merely an indicative value
adopted in order to compare the overall eciencies of the dierent technologies, as detailed
comprehensive calculation is possible if and only if the eective conditions of each real plant are
known.
Water production costs include the following items:
xed charges, dependent on the capital cost and depreciation factor (determined from both
plant life and nancial parameters and consequently varying for each country);
variable charges, dependent on the consumption and cost of energy (related to the source employed and location selected), operational (manpower) and maintenance cost (varying for each
country), consumption and cost of chemicals used for pre- and post-treatment of water (especially in RO plants) and the rate at which the membranes are to be replaced in a RO plants
(these factors are both site related too).
The production cost is, thus, inuenced by numerous factors depending, among others, on the
place where the plant is installed. The values presented in the aforementioned table may, therefore, be considered simply for the purposes of rough estimation only.
The state of the desalination industry in the leading 11 nations (covering almost 73% of the
world market) is shown in Table 4 [4]. It is evident from the above data that more than 43% of the
world production is concentrated in the Persian Gulf Region (Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman) with total population of less than 30 millions. Also,

Table 4
Status of installed capacity worldwide as on 2000 in m3 /d by country (11 leading ones) and for each country by desalination technology [4]
Country
Saudi Arabia
USA
United Arab Emirates
Kuwait
Spain
Japan
Libya
Italy
Qatar
Bahrain
Oman

Capacity
5,253,000
4,328,000
2,891,000
1,615,000
1,234,000
945,000
701,000
581,000
573,000
473,000
378,000

World share (%)

20.3
16.7
11.2
6.2
4.8
3.6
2.7
2.2
2.2
1.8
1.5

Technology share (%)

MSF

MEE

MVC

RO

ED

64.2
1.3
86.7
96.5
4.5
4.2
65.7
43.8
94.3
62.7
87.3

0.3
4.4
7.7
0.1
3.5
2.4
10.7
12.4
3.9
9.7
1.1

1.4
6.3
0.0
0.0
2.8
0.0
0.0
6.5
0.0
0.0
3.7

32.3
74.5
5.5
3.3
84.3
85.9
15.9
21.7
1.8
26.9
7.6

1.8
13.5
0.1
0.1
4.9
7.5
7.7
16.2
0.0
0.7
0.3

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

in the USA and, to less extent, in Japan, numerous plants have been realized. However, so far
a European countries are concerned, only Spain and Italy have made signicant eorts in this
direction. It is to be noted that the Spanish industry (almost doubling its installed capacity over
the period 19962000 and especially providing drinking water to more than one million residents
on the Canary Islands through desalination processes) has certainly made signicant progress.
Also, other countries, such as Cipro and Malta, have adopted this technology, though on a relatively modest scale.
So far as the technologies used in the Gulf region are concerned, the market is dominated by
large scale MSF plants powered by thermoelectric power stations, covering nearly 6297% of the
desalted water production. Also, during the above mentioned period, i.e. 19962000, a quite
sensible growth (nearly 10%) with the MEE process (more complex but at the same time more
energy saving compared to MSF) was observed.
The Arabian Peninsula, with both severe operating conditions and water shortage, appears to
be the most appropriate and potential site for large scale installation of desalination systems based
upon processes such as MSF and MEE. In fact, water from the Red Sea, characterised by both
drastic temperature variations (12 and 35 C in winter and summer, respectively) and, above all,
the high salinity concentration (average 42,000 ppm and maximum 64,000 ppm), makes RO
technology use very problematic.
In addition, the vast operating experience acquired over the years (since 1960), high degree of
reliability and ever increasing water demand, certainly are strong bases for wide spread diusion
of the MSF process, at least in the near future. This will certainly be true in dierent countries and
especially in the Persian Gulf. Contrary, in countries like the USA, Spain and Japan with more
advanced technology, scattered islands and low salinity water (brackish, river or ocean), RO
appears to be the successful desalination process. Lastly, Italy, due to its particular conditions
(certainly favorable but not like those of the Gulf region), lies within an intermediate level, using a
mix of dierent technologies for seawater desalination.
It is, however, to be noted that since 1990, the installation of reverse osmosis plants worldwide
has grown by more than 50%, whereas the increase in MSF processes is just 30%. In addition,
54% of the new contracts are of the RO type compared to just 32% for MSF plants. Finally,
nearly 13% of new contracts are drawn for MEE systems with quite a large growth of this
technology [4].
Based upon the above mentioned considerations, it can be stated that so far as the future of
seawater desalination on a large scale is concerned, MSF plants will continue to be preferred to
treat water with high salinity concentration. In order to enhance energy eciency, such plants are
coupled with thermoelectric power stations according to a dual purpose scheme (generation of
both water and electricity). On the other hand, if operating conditions will not be excessively
severe, RO plants will occupy the market of small to medium users or even big users in a single
purpose system (water production only).
Table 5 [5] shows the contribution of desalted water to cover the water requirements in South
Mediterranean countries. Here, it is worth noting that the United Arab Emirates cover almost
half of its multi-sectorial water needs using desalination. Malta and Saudi Arabia full at least the
household consumptions (nearly 70 m3 per capita yearly). Also, in Libya and Oman desalted
water contributes signicantly, while in countries like Jordan, Syria and Yemen, despite the situation being critical, the desalination yield seems to be practically negligible.

G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

2225

Table 5
Overall installed capacity and corresponding yearly pro capita production [5]
Country

Capacity (m3 /d)

Production pro capita (m3 /y)

United Arab Emirates

Malta
Saudi Arabia
Libya
Oman
Israel
Algeria
Tunisia
Yemen
Egypt
Jordan
Morocco
Syria

2,164,500
146,900
5,253,200
683,300
192,600
93,900
211,700
53,700
74,600
129,000
7000
19,700
5600

357.5
143.0
105.0
50.2
32.6
6.2
2.8
2.2
1.8
0.8
0.6
0.3
0.1

4. Energy requirements: possible options

Energy consumption (kWh/m)

The well established seawater desalination technologies available worldwide, no doubt, can
be employed to produce large amounts of good quality water at a cost that as of today appears to
be reasonably quite competitive, but the main drawback of all such processes still remaining to be
resolved is the high energy consumption. The specic energy consumption to desalt 1 m3 water
using the best available technology in the market over the last three decades is presented in Fig. 3.
It can be observed that continuous technological progress has reduced these values drastically.
Thanks to the development of RO technology, the energy consumption values of more than 20
kW h/m3 during the year 1970 have been reduced to 5 kW h/m3 as of today.

25
20
15
10
5
0
1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

Year

Fig. 3. Trend of the energy required to desalted water using the best available technology time after time over the last
few decades.

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

A further reduction in the global specic energy consumption (inclusive of pre-treatment, posttreatment and process control) to a value of less than 3 kW h/m3 could be possible through the
adoption of pressure exchangers. It is hoped that such systems yet under experimentation would
be able to replace the turbines currently used in large scale RO plants to recover energy from the
discharged brine that represents a huge quantity of water (on average more than 50% of the input
water) under high pressure conditions. It is, however, to be noted that, no doubt, the amount of
energy needed to desalt seawater has been reduced considerably, but the fact remains that this
value, still being high, constitutes the main reason for the limited diusion of the technology.
Particularly,
to reduce the production cost, large scale MSF and MEE plants need to be coupled with thermoelectric stations, thus increasing investment (in case of ex-novo installations), causing logistic
problems (thermoelectric and desalination plant must be stationed in the same neighborhoods) and making management more complicated (electric and water load are generally out
of phase);
large scale RO and MVC plants need to be located at a site with cheap and sucient electric
power supply.
On site power availability is a major problem. In fact, one third of the total world population
does not have any access to the electric grid, and the worst is that, unfortunately, this happens in
most of the developing countries. In Southern Europe, for example, such percentage is a little less
than 1%. Considering continuous population growth and expanding industrialization, the situation, however, is destined to become more serious.
Problems relevant to the use of fossil fuels, in part, could be resolved by considering possible
utilization of renewable resources, such as biomass, solar, wind, geothermal energy etc. In fact,
most developing countries, with vast areas but having no access to the electric grid, appear to be
well versed in renewable energies. Such sources, able to be used directly even at far remote and
isolated areas, could be exploited to power low to medium scale desalination plants.
A meaningful contribution from the above mentioned environmentally friendly energy resources would certainly be to extend the foreseen duration of fossil fuels store as well as attenuate
the socially negative impacts caused by sudden increases in oil price. It is to be noted that nearly 3
kg of CO2 generated for each m3 of water produced (at an energy consumption rate of 5 kW h/m3
with the best technology currently used on large scale) could be avoided if the conventional fuel is
replaced by a renewable one.
It is, however, to be noted that in spite of the aforesaid favorable characteristics, the renewable
energy contribution to cover energy demand worldwide, though increasing, is still marginal. Aside
from hydroelectric energy (fully exploited and competitive economically) and biomass (used
mainly for low-grade energy production; heating and cooking of the foods), the other principal
resources (solar, wind, geothermal and tides) cover together a little more than 1% of the energy
production worldwide, Table 6 [10]. Here, it is to be noted that the cost of renewable energy
production still being high, systems of the types discussed above have not experienced widespread
diusion.
The cost of 1 kW h of renewable energy (in 1997) and future sceneries, according to evaluations
of the US Department of Energy (DOE), is presented in Fig. 4 [11]. As can be observed, as of

G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

2227

Table 6
Annual worldwide energy production by most important renewable sources and overall demand ratio [10]
Renewable source

Annual production (TJ)

Global demand

Solar thermal
Solar thermal (electric)
Photovoltaic
Geothermal
Geothermal (electric)
Wind
Tides

228,720
1200
630
128,060
151,390
35,760
2160

0.523
0.003
0.001
0.292
0.345
0.082
0.005

Total

547,920

0.806

Fig. 4. Energy production cost by using renewable sources: actual and foreseen values [11].

today, the values for solar energy, when compared to the conventional one (0.03 $/kW h), are very
high. It is, however, expected that the cost of 1 kW h of solar energy will certainly decrease signicantly over the next few years (to nearly 0.1 $/kW h in the year 2010). An opposite trend is
estimated as regards the cost of 1 kW h energy using conventional fuel. This may be attributed to
both the foreseen price rise of fossil fuels and a plausible introduction of severe penalties, even
scal, for systems causing environmental pollution. Instead, both geothermal and wind energy
seem to be competitive, even under the present day situation.

5. Solar powered water desalination systems

Solar energy is the most appropriate energy source for desalting water. It is sucient to remember that it is simply due to solar radiation that the renewal of water on earth is made possible,
by the cycle of evaporation and successive water condensation in the form of rain.
Thanks to this principle, small tubs tted to life boats ever since World War II can convert
seawater into drinkable water through desalination. In such systems, so-called solar stills, salt

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

water is kept in a black bottom glazing basin. Solar heat makes the feed water evaporate. The
vapors are condensed on the glazed surface and collected in a reservoir, using appropriate ducts.
The system, though extremely simple, could not be applied on a large scale due to the enormous
surface requirement, high initial investment and vulnerability to adverse meteorological conditions.
As a rule of thumb, a solar basin can produce around 4 l/d per m2 . Taking into consideration
this value, it is clear that to satisfy the drinking water requirements of 1000 people, it is necessary
to have a basin of area approximately 50,000 m2 . It is because of this reason that application
of this technology is very limited. This is especially true in urban areas with scarce and, above
all, extremely expensive unused land. Moreover, even if the system is quite simple to built and
operate, driving the pumps, along with frequent and onerous maintenance, requires additional
costs.
Solar stills could, however, be considered attractive for domestic purposes, especially in areas
having no access to the electric grid and low labour cost. An improved version with enhanced
eciency needs more complex constructional, operational and maintenance standards and, as
such, is not appropriate for installation in rural areas of developing countries with limited economic and technical resources.
It is to be noted that even today, a large number of low to medium capacity solar desalination
plants are of this type. Generally, such systems are of very low capacity. From the literature
survey, it has been observed that nearly 100 plants (both solar and/or wind powered) with mean
capacity of around 20 m3 /d and installed in more than 25 countries are still working satisfactorily
[5]. Such systems, being too small in size, and above all, built in far remote areas, make it really
dicult to furnish detailed information. In view of this, it is credible that the data furnished by the
IDA reports abundantly underestimate the installations actually working worldwide.
Well then, it is true that solar energy has been used to desalt water for a longtime, but the fact
remains that even today, its application on a signicant scale is very limited. Nevertheless, the
present investigation aims at exploring fully the real potential of this technology with many
favorable aspects such as:
As is evident from the data reported in Table 7, South Mediterranean countries with scarce
water resources often have abundant solar radiation. The reported values have been calculated
using the Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy Data (a software made available by NASA).
Moreover, the problem certainly becomes critical, especially during the hot season, with abundant solar energy, scarce water availability but increased water consumption and, hence, demand (many times owed to the presence of tourists too).
The use of solar energy for both heating and electricity production is fairly well diused in
countries lying within the South Mediterranean belt. It is, therefore, necessary that eorts must
be made to take advantage of the large working experience acquired by a few leading nations
(Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco) with large solar installations, both thermal and photovoltaic.
Fresh water could be accumulated in a simple and economic way and successively supplied to
users as and when requested. The present concept will help to realise a useful system for solar
energy storage (intrinsically discontinuous), thus resolving one of the main problems of managing solar energy.

G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

2229

Table 7
Annual horizontal solar energy available (kW h/m2 ) and relative peak value (W/m2 ) in the countries under investigation
[10]
Country

Annual solar energy (kW h/m2 )

Peak radiation (W/m2 )

Yemen
Saudi Arabia
Oman
Egypt
Jordan
Libya
United Arab Emirates
Israel
Syria
Malta
Morocco
Algeria
Tunisia

2170
2160
2140
2050
2050
2010
1980
1930
1910
1900
1860
1840
1750

940
940
930
1030
1020
1040
910
1010
1040
1040
960
950
980

The most serious problems of water supply occur especially in isolated places (far remote areas,
rural zones, small islands, big ships etc.) having practically no access to the electric grid. Under
such conditions, solar energy could compete even economically when compared with the traditional alternative (Diesel engine powered RO).
In order to resolve the shortage of pure water, desalination plants of relatively small capacity,
as discussed in the present paper, appear to be the most advantageous, both economically (reduced capital) and technically (minimum construction time, local availability of manpower and
raw materials, simple operation and less maintenance).
In order to reach a substantial exploitation of solar energy, it is crucial to investigate the
possibility of powering medium to large capacity desalination plants. So far as the type of desalination technology to be coupled with solar energy is concerned, in principle, any process could
be used. As shown in Table 8, obviously, solar thermal is the most appropriate energy source
to feed thermal processes (MSF or MEE), whereas photovoltaics can supply electric energy for
processes such as MVC or RO.
Solar thermalelectric stations, producing both electricity and eventually heat through a cogeneration arrangement, could feed all types of desalination processes, particularly the hybrid
systems (for instance RO/MSF). It is quite unnecessary to emphasize that the techno-economic
optimization of the plant requires, in this case, a rather high capacity of 10,000 m3 /d or more.
Taking into consideration the main objective of the present investigations, i.e. low to medium
Table 8
Possible options for coupling between solar energy and process of desalination
Solar energy

MSF

MEE

Photovoltaic
Solar thermal
Solar thermal (electric)

d
d

d
d

MVC

RO

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

scale applications, the photovoltaic powered RO process (PV/RO coupling) and the solar thermal
powered multiple eect system (ST/MEE; using an advanced solar collector, such as an evacuated
tubular collector) appear to be the best options [12,13].
6. Economic analysis of dierent options
No device is useful unless it is cost eective. A major question regarding solar energy devices is
whether they are cost eective. Economic feasibility, however, depends on optimization of the
trade-o between the high useful energy collected under specied design conditions and the low
material and manufacturing cost. The present study is an attempt to demonstrate that high
production cost is the main barrier to successful diusion of solar energy, in general, and seawater
desalination, in particular. Special attention has been paid to the aforesaid two dierent options
for possible coupling between a solar system and a desalination unit (PV/RO and ST/MEE). Due
attention has been paid to the points listed below, i.e.
accurate estimation of the production cost of desalted water;
single out the factors to be investigated to ll the gap between solar and conventional technology production cost;
examine other critical aspects of the solar technologies, such as the required land area and
amount of the initial investment.
Moreover, as in each economic analysis of general character, the results obtained, though
purely indicative of the potentialities of the diverse technologies investigated, could vary signicantly on an individual basis. It is sucient to observe that the overall water production cost is
inuenced by several local factors, such as the market status of solar systems, nancing conditions, labor and pre-treatment cost, fuel and electricity prices, etc. The values of the technical
parameters and data regarding insolation (average value for the countries under consideration)
used to estimate the water production cost are reported in Table 9.
Values of the common economic parameters are listed in Table 10. Also, here, the price of
electricity assumed corresponds to the existing average value in the countries under investigation
and, thus, obviously appears to be very low in comparison to the one charged in the Western
Europe region. Specic economic values for each coupling option between solar energy and a
desalting unit are presented in Tables 11 and 12.
Table 9
Values for the technical parameters assumed in the analysis
Utilization ratio
Annual solar energy (kW h/m2 )
Peak radiation (W/m2 )
PV modules eciency
Solar collector eciency
Electric energy need in RO (kW h/m3 )
Electric energy need in MEE (kW h/m3 )
Thermal energy need in MEE (kW h/m3 )

0.9
2000
1000
0.1
0.5
5
2
60

G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

2231

Table 10
Values of the common economic parameters adopted to calculate the water cost
System life (years)
Interest rate (%)
Maintenance (% of plant cost)
Manpower ($/m3 )
Pre-treatment ($/m3 )
Electricity ($/kW h)

PV/RO

ST/MEE

Conventional

25
8
2
0.1
0.035

25
8
2
0.1
0.025

30
5
2
0.05
0.035
0.04

Table 11
Values assigned to economic parameters in order to estimate the water cost by the PV/RO system
PV modules cost for a 10 MW size ($/Wp )
PV modules cost for a 100 kW size ($/Wp )
Battery supply (h)
Battery cost (% of modules cost)
Annual rate of batteries replacement (%)
Electronic device cost (% of PV plant cost)
RO plant cost for a 10,000 m3 /d size ($/(m3 /d))
Scale factor
Membranes cost (% of RO plant cost)
Annual rate of membranes replacement (%)

3
6
12
15
12
5
1000
0.9
60
10

Table 12
Values assigned to economic parameters in order to estimate the water cost by the ST/MEE system
Collector cost for a 100,000 m2 area ($/m2 )
Collector cost for a 10,000 m2 area ($/m2 )
Storage cost (% of collector cost)
MEE plant cost for a 10,000 m3 /d size ($/m3 /d)
Scale factor

150
250
20
1200
0.7

Based on the data presented in the previous tables, the production cost for 1 m3 of desalted
water using both alternative systems (PV/RO and ST/MEE) and a conventional RO plant connected to the electric grid have been calculated. The hypothesis of a MVC plant has not been
examined. This is mainly due to the fact that the technology is not viable economically, especially
for a capacity above 3000 m3 /d, when the production cost would be less sensitive to the size of the
plant than is the case with RO or MEE systems. From the data (Fig. 5) relevant to the production
cost for each of the options analysed and capacity varying between 500 and 5000 m3 /d, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. The production cost of desalted water for a low capacity PV/RO plant of 1000 m3 /d or so appears to be signicantly cheaper than for a ST/MEE plant (nearly 0.4 $/m3 less), but the latter is
more advantageous for systems of higher production capacity where the cost reduces by 40%

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

4

Water cost ($/m)

Photovltaic
3

Solar thermal
Conventional

0
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Capacity (m/d)

Fig. 5. Water cost as a function of plant capacity by means of two solar systems (PV/RO and ST/MEE) and a conventional one.

compared to 25% within the analyzed range. It is, therefore, to be noted that with the increase
in capacity to 5000 m3 /d, the production cost in both systems is around 2 $/m3 .
2. The production cost of desalted water depends upon the capacity of the plant. It is, however, to
be noted that even if the dierence is reduced from 2 to 1.2 $/m3 (within the analyzed range),
this value is still more than double the cost of water from the conventional system (around 0.75
$/m3 ).
So, an increase in the size of solar powered desalination plants, no doubt, lowers the water
production cost, but also, it has negative repercussions on factors mentioned previously, i.e.
Land occupation by the solar eld being proportional to the plant capacity, the PV/RO system
will certainly be preferred compared to the ST/MEE system (nearly 8 m2 compared to little less
than 20 m2 per m3 /d of installed capacity). It is because of this reason that the simple solar still,
having a colossal land request of about 250 m2 per m3 /d of installed capacity, cannot exceed
certain size limits.
As shown in Fig. 6, the specic plant cost varies between 6200 and 4500 $/(m3 /d) for the PV/RO
system while varying between 8600 and 5000 $/(m3 /d) for the ST/MEE system. It is, however, to
be noted that although the increase in plant size cuts this cost signicantly, the fact remains that
it is still very high compared to that of a typical conventional plant. For example, a PV/RO
system of capacity 5000 m3 /d needs an initial investment of more than 22 million $ compared
to about 6 million $ for an ordinary RO system.
It can, therefore, be concluded that a capacity increase of solar powered plants, no doubt,
reduces the water production cost but, unfortunately, increases signicantly both the initial expenditure and the area required by the solar eld. It is to be noted that positive issues aect
progressively in a less substantial manner, whereas the negative aspects dominate with growing
plant capacity and, hence, practically make application of the systems under investigation more
fruitful for low to medium sizes of the types investigated in the present study.

G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

2233

Specific plant cost ($/(m/d))

10000
Photovoltaic
Solar Thermal
Conventional

8000
6000
4000
2000
0
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Capacity (m/d)

Operation and maintenance cost ($/m)

Fig. 6. Specic plant cost as a function of plant capacity by means of two solar systems (PV/RO and ST/MEE) and a
conventional one.

1.1

Photovoltaic

1.0

Solar Thermal

0.9

Conventional

0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Capacity (m/d)

Fig. 7. Operation and maintenance specic cost as a function of plant capacity by means of two solar systems (PV/RO
and ST/MEE) and a conventional one.

Specic operating cost as a function of plant capacity is presented in Fig. 7. It can be observed
that for the ST/MEE system, this parameter varies between about 0.5 and 0.7 $/m3 , more or less
the same as those relevant to a conventional plant, whereas the cost is certainly higher in the PV/
RO system (approximately 0.70.9 $/m3 ). Based upon the data presented in the aforesaid gures,
i.e. Figs. 6 and 7, it can be concluded that operation of a solar plant, as of today, does not appear
to be very desirable compared to the conventional one. The economic penalty is mainly due to the
high initial capital investment. It is, therefore, necessary to evaluate carefully those factors that
could be helpful to reduce this cost.

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

7. Potential factors for cost reduction

A primary factor that could reduce the water production cost signicantly is certainly related to
the increased reliability of the solar technologies. Apart from being a friendly environmental
technology, the longer duration and lasting eciency could lead to nancing conditions equal to
those of a conventional system. As shown in Fig. 8 (assuming just the same values of depreciation
rate (30 vs. 25 yrs) for both the alternative and traditional options) as a result of signicant reduction (>20%), it is hoped that water production cost of the order of 1.6 and 1.5 $/m3 for the PV/
RO and ST/MEE systems, respectively, can be reached in a fairly short time.
Considering the fact that a number of Governments and International Institutions generally
provide funds for renewable energy based productions, further diminution in the water production cost can be achieved. Besides, depending upon the location, plants could also benet by
3.0
Photovoltaic

Water cost ($/m)

2.5

Solar Thermal
Conventional

2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0

1000

2000
3000
4000
Capacity (m/d)

5000

6000

Fig. 8. Water cost as a function of plant capacity by means of two solar systems (PV/RO and ST/MEE) and a conventional one using equal depreciation rate.

Water cost ($/m)

3
Without incentives
With incentives (30%)
With incentives (50%)

2.6
2.2
1.8
1.4
1
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Capacity (m/d)

Fig. 9. Water cost as a function of plant capacity by a PV/RO system without and with incentives meant for solar
section only.

G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

2235

Cost of water produced ($/m)

nancings (made available from the World Bank) meant especially for installations in remote
areas as well as in developing countries. Water production costs of PV/RO and ST/MEE systems
(with and without incentives of 30% and 50% for the solar section only) are shown in Figs. 9 and
10, respectively. As shown in the above mentioned gures, assuming 30% and 50% incentives, a
net reduction in the production cost (to 1.7 and 1.4 $/m3 for the PV/RO system) and (1.6 and 1.3
$/m3 for the ST/MEE system) could be possible.
Anyway, such costs still remain high compared to those of a traditional system. It is, therefore,
necessary to require that to achieve a reasonable comparative value (around 1 $/m3 ), PV/RO and
ST/MEE systems would receive far higher nancing of nearly 90% and 75%, respectively. On the
basis of these results, it is obvious that with production cost being so high, full economic competitiveness would not be achieved simply through incentives but certainly must be the result of
reductions related to the increase of volume sold and technological developments of solar systems.
With the prices of PV modules anticipated to decrease (Fig. 11) further, the future of photovoltaic technology certainly appears to be encouraging [14]. It can be attributed to both the
3.4

Without incentives

With incentives (30%)

2.6

With incentives (50%)

2.2
1.8
1.4
1
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Capacity (m/d)

Fig. 10. Water cost as a function of plant capacity by a ST/MEE system without and with incentives meant for solar
section only.

PV module cost ($/Wp)

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

Year

Fig. 11. PV modules cost trend in USA during the period 19751998 [14].

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

PV modules sold (MWp )

250

USA
Japan
Europe
World

200
150
100
50
0
1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Year

Fig. 12. PV modules market trend worldwide as well as in leading countries during the last decade or so [15].

increased production and sale (especially in the USA and Japan, Fig. 12 [15]) and technological
development. The cost of PV produced electricity now varies between 0.20 and 0.50 $/kW h,
depending mainly on both the plant size and solar insolation. According to the US national
program, in the long run, the above mentioned cost is foreseen to decrease to 0.10 and 0.06 $/
kW h for domestic and industrial applications, respectively, thus resulting in competitiveness with
fossil fuels [16]. In the short term, the aforesaid program has planned to achieve the important
targets mentioned in Table 13 [17].
Ascertained from the favorable economic trend for photovoltaic technology, the cost estimation for each cubic meter of desalted water under reduced modules prices can be interpreted as
possibly achievable goals over a short interval of time. The data presented in Fig. 13 has been
drawn based on the above mentioned hypothesis, particularly together with the actual scenario
(cost of the module between 3 and 6 $/Wp ), three other cases corresponding to less technological
development (cost between 2.5 and 5 $/Wp ), anticipated development (cost between 2 and 4 $/Wp )
and better than forecast development (cost between 1.5 and 3 $/Wp ) have also been considered.
Alternatively, such graphs could represent scenarios to be reached over longer and longer periods
of time. Even under these conditions, the estimated production costs of 1.8, 1.6 and 1.4 $/m3 ,
respectively, appear to be signicantly higher than that of the traditional system.
Solar energy could be competitive economically (even at the actual costs) at places where the
price of fossil fuels used to run a desalination unit is notably higher than their standard value. The
aforesaid situation could be realized in isolated areas having no access to the electric grid as well as
suering from a critical water supply shortage. At such places, a traditional desalination plant
(reverse osmosis) is generally connected to a Diesel run electric generator. For such an application,
Table 13
Main goals regarding PV technology to be achieved during the period 20002005 [17]
Parameters

1995

2000

2005

PV modules eciency (%)

PV modules cost ($/Wp )
System life (years)
Overall sales in USA (MW)

717
715
1020
175

818
512
>20
500

1020
28
>25
10001500

G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

2237

3.0
Module cost (3-6 $/Wp)
Module cost (2.5-5 $/Wp)
Module cost (2-4 $/Wp)
Module cost (1.5-3 $/Wp)

Water cost ($/m)

2.8
2.6
2.4
2.2
2.0
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Capacity (m/d)

Fig. 13. Water cost as a function of plant capacity by a PV/RO system considering present and future sceneries for the
PV module price.

Diesel, with its high transportation and storage cost, could certainly be very costly compared to a
normal value of 0.2 $/kg more or less.
Water cost as a function of capacity for a traditional system installed at places having no access
to the electric grid and, thus, operated using oil at dierent prices is shown in Fig. 14. The technoeconomic analysis has been done on the basis of the parameters reported in Table 14. It can be
1.6
Oil price (0.5 $/kg)
Oil price (0.3 $/kg)
Oil price (0.2 $/kg)

Water cost ($/m)

1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0

1000

2000

3000
4000
Capacity (m/d)

5000

6000

Fig. 14. Water cost as a function of plant capacity by a traditional Diesel-powered RO system considering dierent oil
price values.

Table 14
Values assigned to thermoeconomic parameters in order to estimate the water cost by RO system powered with Diesel
engine
Diesel powered generator cost for a 100 kW size ($/kW)
Scale factor
Electric eciency
Additional manpower cost ($/m3 )

400
0.85
0.35
0.05

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

observed that even assuming a reasonable oil price for isolated and far remote areas, the production cost using a conventional desalination system may increase to more than 1.2 $/m3 .
Anyway, even under the aforesaid conditions, solar energy actually does not appear to be feasible
economically. The use of solar energy could only be feasible if the fuel supply becomes really
onerous (nearly 1 $/kg) with the increased water production cost of nearly 1.9 $/m3 , i.e. almost the
same as that of the PV/RO system.
In fact, it is to be noted that in such case, the most competitive solar option will undoubtedly be
the photovoltaic, as in the solar thermal option, it would, however, be necessary to include a
generating unit to satisfy the electric energy needs of the multiple eect process. Consequently, the
water production cost would be very high. For example, even at an oil price of 0.5 $/m3 , the water
production cost would be around 2.2 $/m3 .
In conclusion, as of today, a solar system, in comparison to its conventional counterpart, does
not appear to be competitive economically. Nevertheless, the possible intervention of some factors
examined earlier could lead to a particularly favorable situation in the near future. For example
with an amortization rate equal to that of conventional systems (as a result of increased reliability)
and the possible reduction in the PV modules price (between 2 and 4 $/Wp ), the water production
cost using a PV/RO system (and that too without incentives) will be of the order of nearly 1.3 $/
m3 . This value is in line with that of a standard (conventional) system having no access to the
electric grid.

8. Expected developments
The results obtained in the previous paragraphs demonstrate that as of today, the dierence in
cost is certainly unfavorable for solar energy based systems compared to conventional ones. It is,
however, important to note that the number of present and foreseen developments adopted/to be
adopted at both the national and international levels would reduce this dierence signicantly,
thus making renewable systems more favorable.
The most important foreseen developments are listed below, i.e.
1. Introduction of the so called carbon tax or similar measures will certainly make the further rise
in the prices of traditional fuels almost unavoidable.
2. Prices of PV modules are destined to decrease in the near future. It will mainly be due to signicant growth of the sold volume as well as continuous improvement of PV technology.
3. Reduction in the prices of solar thermal collectors, though a bit less compared to photovoltaic,
will also be observed.
4. Production of electricity at lower cost (from a PV system) will make PV-MVC coupling feasible, as the superior consumption observed in such cases will be less relevant, and the investment
being the same compared to RO technology, there will be no expenses for membrane replacement and pre-treatment costs will also be reduced.
5. Operation of the MEE process at high working temperature could be possible using innovative pre-treatment methods (i.e. nano-ltration) at higher eciency with notable reduction
of solar eld extension (for a xed output) and freedom from fouling and corrosion
problems.

G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

2239

6. Development of cheaper and less corrosive building materials for the MEE system (for example
plastic), besides reducing the plant cost, would allow its operation at higher temperature with
aforementioned advantageous consequences.
7. Providing a MEE plant with a heat absorption pump, a signicant increase in eciency (40%
and 120% more for a single and double eect pump, respectively) with drastic reduction of
the required solar eld area will be achieved. Obviously, the associated pump cost and, above
all, the constraint of resorting to more expensive solar devices able to achieve the high temperatures indispensable to feed the pump (100 and 170 C, respectively) plant cost will increase as
well.

9. Conclusions
According to the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an estimated 1.1
billions of people have no access to safe drinking water and more than 5 million die from water
borne diseases each year. Provision are no better even for the future. It is estimated that more
than 2.7 billions of people will face severe water shortages by the year 2025 if the world continues consuming water at the same rate per capita, and the real population growth ts the forecasted trend.
The areas most at risk from the growing water scarcity are in semi-arid regions of sub-Saharan
Africa and Asia. The Middle East, India, Pakistan and China would also struggle with serious
water shortages in coming years. Surprisingly, at least 120 million people living in Europe still
do not have access to clean water for drinking and sanitation use. The looming crisis is mainly
due to mismanagement of existing water resources, population growth and continuous climate
changes. It is, therefore necessary that sincere eorts be made to face the looming water crisis
and conserve shrinking water supplies amid the rising demand.
Seawater desalination has already conrmed its potentiality to resolve the fresh water problem
in numerous countries in both the Near East region and Mediterranean belt. It is, however, to
be noted that in spite of the good reliability and favorable economic aspects of desalination
processes, the problem of high energy consumption still remains to be resolved. Considering
the fact that areas largely exposed to the water scarcity, at the same time, are characterized
by high levels of solar radiation, an appropriate consideration needs to be given to the opportunity of using solar energy, no doubt a bit costly but having optimal features for its coupling
with desalination processes. This is true, especially in isolated and far remote areas, practically
having no access to the electric grid.
The water production cost for a solar desalination plant of capacity 5000 m3 /d (using two technological options, ST/MEE or PV/RO) should be around 2 US$/m3 , i.e. approximately 2.5
times higher than that of a conventional system. However, considering the critical aspects of
a solar plant, such as high initial investment as well as huge land use, it can be stated that this
technology can be used for low to medium scale applications (up to a few thousands of m3 /d
only).
So far as large scale plants are concerned, coupling of desalination processes with high temperature solar technologies (parabolic trough solar electric generating systems and central receiver
power plants) needs to be investigated thoroughly.

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G. Fiorenza et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 22172240

In view of the expected enhanced reliability and deep market penetration of solar technologies,
the production cost for a 5000 m3 /d capacity PV/RO plant, could be lowered further to 1.3 $/m3
(comparable to that of a conventional plant without any access to the electric grid). Such a
plant could be considered even more cost eective under nancial support in terms of funds
or loans at a low interest rate made available by both national and international institutions
destined especially to renewable energy applications.
Acknowledgements
One of the authors (VKS) would like to express his sincere thanks to Prof. G. Furlan, Head,
Training and Research in Italian Laboratories Programme of ICTP (Trieste) for his valuable
support and the nancial help provided to complete this research work.
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series, June 2000, Rome.
[3] World Resources Institute (WRI). World Resources Report, Published in 1997 by WRI, Washington USA,
1997.
[4] Al-Shuaib A, Al-Bahu M, El-Dessouky H, Ettouney H. Progress of the desalination industry in Kuwait,
Proceedings of the IDA World Congress on Desalination and Water Reuse, San Diego (USA), 1999, Vol. IV.
p. 191221.
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