scholarly journals Localizing the Water-Energy Nexus: The Relationship between Solar Thermal Power Plants and Future Developments in Local Water Demand

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Julia Terrapon-Pfaff ◽  
Sibel Raquel Ersoy ◽  
Thomas Fink ◽  
Sarra Amroune ◽  
El Mostafa Jamea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Local Water

Water availability plays an important role in the expansion planning of utility-scale solar power plants, especially in the arid regions of the Middle East and North Africa. Although these power plants usually account for only a small fraction of local water demand, competition for water resources between communities, farmers, companies, and power suppliers is already emerging and is likely to intensify in future. Despite this, to date there has been a lack of comprehensive studies analyzing interdependencies and potential conflicts between energy and water at local level. This study addresses this research gap and examines the linkages between water resources and energy technologies at local level based on a case study conducted in Ouarzazate, Morocco, where one of the largest solar power complexes in the world was recently completed. To better understand the challenges faced by the region in light of increased water demand and diminishing water supply, a mixed-method research design was applied to integrate the knowledge of local stakeholders through a series of workshops. In a first step, regional socio-economic water demand scenarios were developed and, in a second step, water saving measures to avoid critical development pathways were systematically evaluated using a participatory multi-criteria evaluation approach. The results are a set of water demand scenarios for the region and a preferential ranking of water saving measures that could be drawn upon to support decision-making relating to energy and water development in the region.

Exploring Northwest China's agricultural water-saving strategy: analysis of water use efficiency based on an SE-DEA model conducted in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province

2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 1106-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Mu ◽  
L. Fang ◽  
H. Wang ◽  
L. Chen ◽  
Y. Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Shaanxi Province ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Use Efficiency

Worldwide, water scarcity threatens delivery of water to urban centers. Increasing water use efficiency (WUE) is often recommended to reduce water demand, especially in water-scarce areas. In this paper, agricultural water use efficiency (AWUE) is examined using the super-efficient data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach in Xi'an in Northwest China at a temporal and spatial level. The grey systems analysis technique was then adopted to identify the factors that influenced the efficiency differentials under the shortage of water resources. From the perspective of temporal scales, the AWUE increased year by year during 2004–2012, and the highest (2.05) was obtained in 2009. Additionally, the AWUE was the best in the urban area at the spatial scale. Moreover, the key influencing factors of the AWUE are the financial situations and agricultural water-saving technology. Finally, we identified several knowledge gaps and proposed water-saving strategies for increasing AWUE and reducing its water demand by: (1) improving irrigation practices (timing and amounts) based on compatible water-saving techniques; (2) maximizing regional WUE by managing water resources and allocation at regional scales as well as enhancing coordination among Chinese water governance institutes.

Beijing water resources and the south to north water diversion project

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duan Wei
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Water Diversion ◽  
The South ◽  
Water Diversion Project ◽  
North Water

Beijing is located in a semiarid region, and water shortage is a common problem in the city. Along with the rapid increase in water demand, due to fast socioeconomic development and an increase in population, a shortage of water resources and a deterioration of the water environment have become obstacles to sustainable socioeconomic development in Beijing. In the long run, sustainable water resources management, water conservation, and completion of the south to north water diversion project will solve the problem. This paper introduces the water resources situation in Beijing; analyzes future water demand; and discusses the actions of water saving, nontraditional water resources exploitation, wetland construction, and water environment protection. The paper also explains the importance of the south to north water diversion project and the general layout of the water supply strategy, water distribution system, and methods to efficiently use the diverted water in Beijing.Key words: water resources, water supply, water saving, water recycling, water diversion.

scholarly journals Potential assessment of using dry cooling mode in two different solar thermal power plants.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Taqiy Eddine Boukelia
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
The Other ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Thermal Power Plants ◽  
Cooling Mode ◽  
Levelized Cost Of Electricity ◽  
Solar Thermal Power ◽  
Dry Cooling

Most of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants are usually installed in desert regions where water resource availability is a critical limitation due to the lack of water required for the exploitation of these systems in these regions. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the techno-economic competitiveness of deploying both modes of cooling (wet and dry) in two different parabolic trough solar thermal power plants integrated with thermal energy storage and fuel backup system; the first one is using thermic oil, while the other is working using molten salt. The obtained results show that the dry cooling mode can decrease the yields of the two power plants down to 8.7 % and 9.3 % for oil and salt configurations respectively. On the other hand, the levelized cost of electricity can increase by using this cooling option up to 9.3 % for oil plant, and 10.0 % for salt one. However, the main advantage of using dry cooling option is reducing water consumption which has been decreased by more than 94 % for both plants. The application of our methodology to other two sites worldwide, confirms the viability of the obtained results. The importance of this results is to show the effect of working fluids on the cooling system of solar power plants.

scholarly journals Sustainable Water Management in Iraq (Kurdistan) as a Challenge for Governmental Responsibility

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmood Yousuf ◽  
Nada Rapantova ◽  
Jalal Younis
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Environmental Legislation ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
State Of Water ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Local Water ◽  
The Eu

During the last few decades, a critical scarcity of water has occurred in the Middle East due to climate change and the mismanagement of water resources. The situation is complicated by the absence of an effective legislative framework at the local level as well as by the incapability and disrepute of the local water authorities. Most Iraqi citizens depend on the surface waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have their sources in upstream neighbouring countries. Water crises concerning the shared waters urgently require a solution at the international level. Unfortunately, Iraq has faced several wars in a row (1980–2003), which has prevented the country from establishing its institutions. The rapid increase in the population of the transboundary countries on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and the high demands on agriculture, are accelerating water exploitation. In this paper, the present state of water management in Iraq from the viewpoint of the legislative framework, water balance, and transboundary issues will be discussed, with special attention to Kurdistan. Many legislative documents have been established or amended by the Iraqi and Kurdistan parliaments since 2003. In 2015, the Kurdistan Government Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, in cooperation with the EU, issued a guide for environmental legislation related to all environmental components such as air, water, and soil. The recommendations on actions needed in the water management in Kurdistan will be presented; they are inspired by the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC) implemented in EU member states.

Comparative Optimization on the Focusing Methods of Solar-Electric Dish Stirling System

2012 ◽  
Vol 236-237 ◽  
pp. 714-719
Author(s):  
Wei Lan ◽  
Bin Wang ◽  
Yi Ming Feng
Keyword(s):  
Power Systems ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Engineering Application ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Solar Thermal Power ◽  
Low Emission ◽  
Practical Engineering

Nowadays, the high-speed economic development has caused significant consumption of energy. While the circumstance is getting severer, solar energy is taken as a kind of clean, environmental friendly resource with infinite storage that has aroused a wide public concern. Photovoltaic and solar thermal are two main categories of solar applications. Because of its high conversion efficiency, low emission and flexible installation, dish Stirling solar power technology is more preferable to be used among the solar thermal area. From the view of practical engineering application, this paper illustrates multiple focusing methods of the current dish Stirling solar power systems in detail, and the comparison of these methods are given to analyze their advantages, disadvantages and their application scenarios. It can be used for the future development of dish Stirling solar power technology and applied as a reference for large dish solar thermal power plants’ installations and tests.

The Green Energy Fraction Parameter for Solar Thermal Power Systems

Solar Energy ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aharon Roy
Keyword(s):  
Power Systems ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Energy Fraction ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Project Assessment ◽  
Hybrid Power

A new solar power parameter, the green energy fraction is proposed as a useful metric for project assessment. Its concept is elucidated and the application to solar/fuel hybrid power plants is exhibited by numerical illustrations. This parameter is a simple tool for tracking the actual green energy performance of a particular plant. It proves to serve a significant yardstick for evaluating fuel avoidance, hence the environmental consequences of solar hybrid power plants. The green energy fraction provides a summation of the fuel avoidance for the whole system, simple or complex, and allows comparative evaluation between power plants for upright green energy (fuel avoidance), and thus enables standard assessments of various systems on an equal basis. It has both thermodynamic and engineering meaning and signifies one of the essential figures of merit for solar power systems. It should assist R&D management to improve technologies. Green energy entitles substantial financial benefits.

scholarly journals Day-Ahead Robust Economic Dispatch Considering Renewable Energy and Concentrated Solar Power Plants

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bai ◽  
Ding ◽  
Wang ◽  
Chen
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Economic Dispatch ◽  
Automatic Generation ◽  
Test System ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power ◽  
Solar Field

A concentrated solar power (CSP) plant with energy storage systems has excellent scheduling flexibility and superiority to traditional thermal power generation systems. In this paper, the operation mechanism and operational constraints of the CSP plant are specified. Furthermore, the uncertainty of the solar energy received by the solar field is considered and a robust economic dispatch model with CSP plants and renewable energy resources is proposed, where uncertainty is adjusted by the automatic generation control (AGC) regulation in the day-ahead ancillary market, so that the system security is guaranteed under any realization of the uncertainty. Finally, the proposed robust economic dispatch has been studied on an improved IEEE 30-bus test system, and the results verify the proposed model.

High Flux Central Receivers of Molten Salts for the New Generation of Commercial Stand-Alone Solar Power Plants

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús M. Lata ◽  
Manuel Rodríguez ◽  
Mónica Álvarez de Lara
Keyword(s):  
Molten Salt ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
Receiver System ◽  
Solar Power Plants

Molten salt technology represents nowadays the most cost-effective technology for electricity generation for stand-alone solar power plants. Although this technology can be applied to both concentrating technologies, parabolic through and central receiver systems (CRSs), CRS technology can take advantages from its higher concentration, allowing to work at higher temperatures and therefore with a reduction in the size and cost of the storage system. The receiver system is the “door” for which the energy passes from the field collector to the thermal-electric cycle; it represents, therefore, the core of the CRS and its performance directly affects plant production. Starting from the published lessons from SOLAR TWO receiver technology, the validation of an improved receiver for molten salt technology was assumed as part of the SOLAR TRES solar thermal power commercial plant development. Main challenges for the new receiver were to increase its allowable peak flux up to 1MW∕m2 in order to maximize the thermal efficiency of the CRS solar power plant, and to improve its safe life without limiting the incident fluxes that the field of heliostats is able to deliver with an optimized pointing strategy. Several advanced features in geometric and thermodynamic aspects and in its material selection have been implemented on the receiver. With the results of a sensitivity analysis carried out with an own code developed by SENER (SENREC), a prototype receiver panel was designed, fabricated, and installed in a proper test bed at the PSA. Test validation on this panel was carried out in 2007. The initial test results show a very good behavior of the prototype receiver, which allows to anticipate that the objectives of its design can be fulfilled. SENER and CIEMAT have joined forces to face up the challenge of sizing and designing a new molten salt receiver of high thermal efficiency, able to operate at high fluxes without compromising its durability (at least 25years). Main challenges for the new receiver design were to optimize the receiver dimensions and receiver tube sizes and material selection to surpass the operating conditions in the new plants with respect to SOLAR TWO.

scholarly journals Thermophysical properties experimentally tested for NaCl-KCl-MgCl2 eutectic molten salt as a next generation high temperature HTF in CSP systems

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Xiaoxin Wang ◽  
Jusus Rincon ◽  
Peiwen Li ◽  
Youyang Zhao ◽  
Judith Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Power Systems ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Thermophysical Properties ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Thermal Storage ◽  
Heat Of Fusion

Abstract A new eutectic chloride molten salt, MgCl2-KCl-NaCl (wt.% 45.98-38.91-15.11), has been recognized as one of the most promising high-temperature heat-transfer fluids (HTF) for both heat transfer and thermal storage for the 3rd Generation concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) systems. For the first time, some essential thermophysical properties of this eutectic chloride molten salt needed for basic heat transfer and energy storage analysis in the application of concentrating solar power systems have been experimentally tested and provided as functions of temperature in the range from 450 °C to 700 °C. The studied properties include heat capacity, melting point, heat of fusion, viscosity, vapor pressure, density, and thermal conductivity. The property equations provide essential database for engineers to use to calculate convective heat transfer in concentrated solar receivers, heat exchangers, and thermal storage for concentrated solar power plants.

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