干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

Producing fresh water via sea-and brackish-water desalination is essential for arid, water-scarce regions, but it is expensive and energy-intensive. The cost of energy is a major contributor to this high cost and the use of fossil fuels that currently power desalination plants causes emissions of greenhouse gases and other hazardous pollutants. The recent cost reductions and efficiency advances of photovoltaic systems create opportunities for developing low-cost and emission-free desalination technologies. However, the adoption of PV-powered water desalination and reuse technologies is hampered by the lack of concepts and designs that are integral to the variability of the solar resources. This paper describes the status and prospects of PV-integrated grid-connected and autonomous desalination systems and presents a holistic approach accounting for the variable conditions of the solar resources in different regions of the world to advance the development and deployment of environmentally friendly water desalination technologies world-wide.