Techno-economic analysis of solar and wind powered desalination to meet the water needs of hundred homes in Karachi, Pakistan
Qamar Abbas1*, Hafiz Muhammad Ali1,2, Awad B.S. Alquaity1,3, Ahmad Al Miaari1
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
2 Interdisciplinary Research Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (IRC-SES), King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
3 Interdisciplinary Research Center for Hydrogen Technologies and Carbon Management, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
*Corresponding author
https://doi.org/10.5004/po2024101
ABSTRACT
Desalination removes salt and other impurities from seawater or brackish water so that humans, agriculture, or industries can use it. Desalination plants have thermal or electrical load requirements depending on the type of desalination. This work involves the techno-economic analysis of solar and wind energy systems to run a desalination plant that can supply water for 100 homes in Karachi, Pakistan. The results showed that the solar system is more feasible for the selected location than the wind system, considering the levelized cost of energy and water. It is found that the annual AC energy obtained from the solar and wind systems for the weather conditions of Karachi is ~64 MWh and ~73 MWh, respectively. The cost of desalinated water for solar and wind systems is 1.07 $/m3 and 1.8 $/m3, respectively. The designed solar and wind systems can cover the energy requirement of the desalination plant for the whole year, except for January, November, and December for the solar system and February for the wind system.
Keywords: Techno-economic; Desalination; Solar powered; Wind powered
