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In the field of water management, desalination industry has faced various economic and environmental challenges. Renewable energies and the incorporation of operational strategies such as demand-side management have been able to contribute with the aim of facing them. Nonetheless, it is necessary to continue studying demand-side management for water supply systems emphasising it as a strategic tool to make operational decisions. This article presents a methodology based on a novel Mixed-Integer Linear Programming model in order to program the operation of a seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant with one pumping station for a desertic remote agricultural zone, in accordance with the principles of demand-side management. A photovoltaic solar plant connected to the grid is considered as a renewable energy source. The mathematical model aims to establish the optimal hourly operating load of the system that minimises the daily margin of purchased electricity costs minus sales income of generated electricity. The case study where the methodology is tested is an agricultural area in Northern Chile. The proposed methodology in this paper establishes the basis for future research and industrial applications, considering that it can be generalised to other geographical situations, as well as being modifiable to be adapted for more complex water supply systems and/or other renewable energy sources. • A novel optimisation model was developed to manage a water supply system operation. • The developed optimisation model is based on demand-side management principles. • Demand-side management enables more efficient use of renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that most of the mines in Chile are situated in regions with high solar resources, solar power could play a significant role as an alternative solution to satisfy the electricity demand in the mining industry. This paper aims to investigate the feasibility of integrating solar power technology into copper concentrate plants (CCPs). Three commercial technologies (PV, CSP, and hybrid PV-CSP) are considered for integration into four existing CCPs of different sizes and located in different regions. To provide comprehensive analysis, the design, performance and economic assessment of 12 cases are carried and the investment costs are estimated taking into account characteristics of the Chilean market as well as the effect of scale. The performance analysis reveals a strong influence of the degradation rate on the electricity production of solar power plants. The first-year capacity factor of the CSP units is around 68% while it is around 32% for the case of PV units. Due to the degradation in the performance of the components, the lifetime-averaged capacity factor is about 9% lower than that of the first year. The economic assessment indicates that PV is the most suitable technology for integration into the CCPs. The Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of PV-CCPs ranges from 35.53 to 44.40 USD/MWhe, depending on the size and the location of the plant. The LCOE for the cases of CSP-CCPs and PV-CSP-CCPs ranges from 127.08 to 168.88 USD/MWhe and from 91.89 to 118.91 USD/MWhe, respectively. The modified internal rate of return (MIRR) of the PV-CCPs ranges from 8 to 9%, it discounted pack-back period (DPP) ranges from 5 to 6 years. The DPP PV-CSP-CCPs ranges from and from 15 to 23 years respectively. Overall, the CSP-CCPs are not atractive investments due to high LCOE, longer DPP, and MIRR. However, the sensitivity analysis revealed that its LCOE could be lowered by reducing the investment costs. For instance, a reduction of about 10% in the LCOE is possible if the specific investment costs of the TES is cut to about 10UDS/kW th. Image 1 • We focus on the integration of solar power technologies (SPTs) into the copper mining plants (CCPs). • 12 cases of solarized-CCPs is evaluated technically and economically. • The costs of solar power technologies in Chile (PV, CSP, and PV-CSP) are established. • The LCOE of PV-CCPs is about 4 times lower than that of CSP-CCPs and 50% that of PV-CSP-CCPs. • PV-CCPs and CSP-PV-CCPs are viable options but CSP-CCPs is viable only in sites of high solar radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]