Feasibility Study of a Wind Farm to Power a Modular Seawater Desalination Unit
摘要
This paper reports on the feasibility assessment and sizing of a wind farm designed to drive a modular seawater desalination plant, using RETScreen Expert software. The objective is to find renewable solutions for a sustainable water production in coastal areas owing to the increasing restrictions on the availability of freshwater. The innovative character resides in the combination of a technical and financial analysis of a desalination system working with renewable energy in the concrete context of wind resources available. The method simulates wind production with RETScreen Expert using wind speed profiles of the Global Wind Atlas database. The electric consumption of the reverse osmosis desalination unit is estimated in accordance to its production capacity of 42 million cubic meters per year and its specific electric consumption at 105.6 kWh of electric energy per cubic meter of produced fresh water. The results show that a wind farm of 180 MW to achive the 100% electrical energy requirements of the plant, which produce 388,103 MWh, with a CO₂ reduction of near to 416,601 tons per year. The financial assessment shows a return on investment of 4.8 years with an internal return of 30.8%, subjective to variations of the tariffs of electrical energy and costs of investment. This wind powered desalination solution answers technically and economically to a form of viability to developers and clients and contribute per se to solve the energetic transition to a solution in water-energy sustainable projects for the coastal communities.