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The aim of this study is to investigate the economics of renewable energy- powered desalination, as applied to water supply for remote coastal and desert communities in developing countries. In this paper, the issue of integration of desalination technologies and renewable energy from specified sources is addressed. The features of Photovoltaic (PV) system combined with reverse osmosis desalination technology, which represents the most commonly applied integration between renewable energy and desalination technology, are analyzed. Further, a case study for conceptual seawater reverse osmosis (SW-RO) desalination plant with 1000 m³/d capacity is presented, based on PV and conventional generators powered with fossil fuel to be installed in a remote coastal area in Egypt, as a typical developing country. The estimated water cost for desalination with PV/ SW-RO system is about $1.25 m³, while ranging between $1.22-1.59 for SW-RO powered with conventional generator powered with fossil fuel. Analysis of the economical, technical and environmental factors depicts the merits of using large scale integrated PV/RO system as an economically feasible water supply relying upon a renewable energy source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing potable water demand associated with water shortage in remote coastal communities mandates identification and evaluation of viable water supply options. This paper addresses technical and financial analysis of water supply options in northwest Egypt as a typical remote coastal community on the Mediterranean. Water supply and energy availability are the main challenges hindering possible potential development schemes. Population reallocation programs being the core of any development plan should rely upon availability and accessibility of water and energy resources. The technically feasible proposed options for water supply scenarios to northwest Egypt comprise long-distance water transfer pipeline (LDWTP), large-scale desalination, or a combination of the two. Each option has been incorporated with a water reuse component and investigated for a daily capacity of 200,000m³/d of fresh water. Since all the options are energy intensive in nature, they have been assessed from economic and energy standpoints. Thus, both conventional and small nuclear energy supply schemes have been considered. The estimated capital costs were $M 741.9, 260.0, and 634.5, while the unit water costs were $/m³ 0.92, 0.73, and 0.81 for LDWTP, desalination and joint LDWTP/desalination options, respectively. The merits of cost-effectiveness, energy saving, technical reliability, and environmental aspects were manifested by the second proposed option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]