Securing future water supply for Iran through 100% renewable energy powered desalination

Iran is the 17th most populated country in the world with several regions facing high or extremely high water stress. It is estimated that half the population live in regions with 30% of Iran’s freshwater resources. The combination of climate change, increasing water demand and mismanagement of water resources is forecasted to worsen the situation. This paper shows how the future water demand of Iran can be secured through seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants powered by 100% renewable energy systems (RES), at a cost level competitive with that of current SWRO plants powered by fossil plants in Iran. The optimal hybrid RES for Iran is found to be a combination of solar photovoltaics (PV) fixed-tilted, PV single-axis tracking, Wind, Battery and Power-to-Gas (PtG) plants. The levelised cost of water (LCOW) is found to lie between 1.0 €/m3 – 3.5 €/m3, depending on renewable resource availability and water transportation costs.

伊朗是世界上人口第17多的国家，多个地区面临高或极高的水资源压力。据估计，该国一半人口居住在仅占其淡水资源30%的区域内。气候变化、用水需求增长以及水资源管理不当的共同作用，预计将加剧这一状况。本文阐述了如何通过100%可再生能源系统（RES）供电的海水反渗透（SWRO）淡化厂满足伊朗未来的用水需求，且其成本可与伊朗当前化石燃料驱动的SWRO厂相竞争。研究发现，适合伊朗的最优混合可再生能源系统为固定倾角太阳能光伏（PV）、单轴跟踪光伏、风能、电池储能及电转气（PtG）设施的组合。