Combined water and electricity production on industrial scale in the MENA countries with concentrating solar power

Kurzfassung

This paper presents some results from the EU-financed project MED-CSD in which were carried out technical and economic feasibility studies in concrete locations within selected MENA countries for water and power plants driven by concentrated solar power (CSP). If on one hand desalination helps to alleviate the problem of water scarcity and represent a valid alternative to overexploitation of underground water resources, on the other hand has to confront with energetic and environmental problems. The use of solar energy, which is typically abundant in areas affected by water scarcity, is the key for a sustainable water and power supply. Furthermore it has been shown that combined CSP-desalination plants are economically feasible and deliver energy and water at a fixed and secure price, compared with the price instability and the increasing scarcity of fossil fuels.