Seawater desalination in island grids with a high share of renewable energies

To what extent can integrated planning of an energy supply system and a desalination plant for the provision of drinking water reduce the specific costs for electricity and drinking water?

In this article, various simulation results are presented that answer this question for the Caribbean island of Petite Martinique, Grenada. The seawater desalination plant with variable load behaviour serves as a flexible load for the fluctuating electricity supply from wind turbines. Instead of costly energy storage, drinking water can be produced and stored in times of surplus energy. This leads to a more economical use of electricity generation capacities.

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