Renewable energy desalination: performance analysis and operating data of existing RES desalination plants

Abstract: During the last decades, several small autonomous brackish or seawater desalination units driven by renewable energy sources (RES) have been developed within EU and non-EU projects around the world. A significant number of these units were designed, developed, and operated by research centers/universities, in collaboration with companies working in the field of RES and desalination, in their own premises (laboratories) in order to investigate the reliability and performance of the technologies matching in small-scale and autonomous operations. Some systems were also developed for the supply of fresh water to remote areas, and particularly to cover the needs of small villages or co…