ABSTRACT
Solar desalination is proposed for sustainable desalination in many places of the world due to the usual coincidence between water shortage and high solar irradiation. The multi-effect distillation systems (MED)-Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA) plant is a forward-feed multi-effect distillation unit manufactured and delivered by Weir Entropie in 1987 within the Solar Thermal Desalination (STD) project. This chapter considers the performance of the PV plant that supplies the energy to the brackish desalination system. The energy delivered by the solar photovoltaic (PV) field is compared to the energy consumed by the desalination plant. When the power supplied by the PV field is insufficient to operate the desalination plant, the control system permits energy consumption from the battery bank. The energy production of the PV field throughout summer is superior, and thus the desalination plant operates for more hours with a consequent increase in permeate production.
