Page - 11 - in Clean Water Using Solar and Wind - Outside the Power Grid

Water and energy – for all 11 parts of the water cycle. Solar pumps can provide water for drinking, crop irrigation, increase access to piped water and reduce vulnerability to erratic rainfall patterns, thus increasing yields and incomes. Renewable energy can also meet energy needs across the water supply chain, including various kinds of treatment such as desalination, water reuse and treatment, thus directly contributing towards access to both water and energy. An important aspect is that the solar PV system has free “fuel” from the sun, while conventional fuels represent a major share of the operating cost. In many regions in rural Africa and developing Asia there are abundant solar resources. Even taking into account that the energy cost of desalination is relatively high, it is already acknowledged that solar-powered reverse osmosis desalination can produce water at a lower cost than fossil fuels. Likewise, wind power has free “fuel” from the wind. In each individual case it will be determined if wind is a viable complement or replacement for solar PV. When fuel is free the concept of energy-saving will get another meaning. Having free “fuel” means that as much energy as possible should be extracted for good use. The constraint is the power that will limit the number of appliances, water supply or water cleaning capacity. 1.4.4 Renewables versus nuclear and fossil energy The interesting aspect of solar PV and wind power is that they are technologies and not fuels. They are unlimited, and the price will decrease as deployment increases. For fossil fuels it is the opposite: the more they are used, the more expensive they become (Wesoff & Lacey, 2017). Of course it should be remembered that fossil fuels have enabled our economy to develop. The message of today is that now there are realistic alternatives for producing energy. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has released the 2017 edition of its International Status and Prospects for Nuclear Power report series (IAEA, 2017). It states that the share of nuclear With free “fuel” as much energy as possible should be extracted for good use. Downloaded from https://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/520710/wio9781780409443.pdf by IWA Publishing user