Page - 170 - in Clean Water Using Solar and Wind - Outside the Power Grid

170 Clean Water Using Solar and Wind: Outside the Power Grid wind power-based desalination can be one of the most successful options for seawater desalination, especially in coastal areas with high wind potential. As for solar PV, wind desalination has the drawback of the intermittence of the energy source. Possible combinations with other renewable energy sources, batteries or other energy storage systems can provide smoother operating conditions. As with solar PV, water desalination itself can provide an excellent storage opportunity in the case of electricity generation exceeding demand. Various wind-based desalination plants have been installed around the world, including in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands (wind-powered RO, seawater, 5–50 m3/day), Fuerteventura, Spain (wind-diesel hybrid system, seawater, 56 m3/day) and the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology in the United Kingdom (wind-powered RO, seawater, 12 m3/day) (Kalogirou, 2005; Gude et  al., 2010; Al-Karaghouli and Kazmerski, 2011). Example 14.9: Sydney, Australia Sydney Water desalination plant supplies about 15% of the water for Australia’s most populous city (www.metrowater.nsw.gov.au). To help minimise the carbon footprint of the desalination plant, the power requirements are being 100% offset with renewable energy generated at a 67-turbine wind farm near Bungendore, about 270 km to the south. The wind farm generates more than enough electricity to power the plant: the plant needs around 42 MW while the wind farm’s capacity is 132 MW. Notice that the 132 MW is a peak capacity, so the desalination plant needs some 32% of the wind power peak capacity, which is close to the wind power efficiency. Example 14.10: Perth, Australia The city of Perth in Western Australia has a large desalination plant, the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant, producing around 140,000 m3/day (www.watercorporation.com.au). With energy demand at 3.5 kWh/m3, this will require around 490 MWh/day, which corresponds to a continuous power supply of 20 MW. The power is delivered from a wind farm located 260 km away from the plant. It is documented that the desalination plant requires an average wind power peak capacity of 82 MW, which means that the average delivery of power is about 25% of the capacity. Downloaded from https://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/520710/wio9781780409443.pdf by IWA Publishing user