Technical, Economic, and Environmental Feasibility Analysis of a Small Scale CSP Desalination Plant in Sonora, Mexico

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of developing a small-scale Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) desalination plant at a coastal community located in the northwestern region of Mexico that does not have a running water system to provide continuous access to fresh water. Freshwater is considered a scarce resource around the world, especially in these coastal communities located far away from major urban centers and experiencing severe weather conditions. Some of these communities receive fresh water by tank trucks visit them periodically. The rather long time between each visit makes living conditions harsh during summer days. A literature review was initially conducted to define all the necessary parameters to compare both methods of supplying fresh water, the business as usual and the CSP. Once the variables were identified and included in three categories (technical, economic, and environmental), a case study based on an on-field research was developed to determine the actual input values. For the technical analysis, we calculated the amount of reflecting surface necessary to generate the heat required to fulfill the desalinated water demand. The economic analysis consisted in computing the costs of each phase of the business as usual method, as well as the costs of the CSP components in that region. The environmental study focused on the CO2 emissions generated during each process of supplying water. Analysis of the collected data provided the opportunity to compare the actual process with the proposed CSP and draw an appropriate conclusion based on the results on each of the three categories. From a technical point of view, the location of the community receives the necessary solar resource required for the development of an economically feasible CSP project. At the same time, the community is located near an urban center that will give us access to the technology and human resources required to implement the project. The proposed alternative method of supplying water lessens the environmental impact compared to the actual one by emitting less CO2 emissions with a lower levelized cost during the lifetime of the desalination plant.