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I wasn't too clear about what I meant, but is storage even necessary here? For example, would there be an issue if the desalination process was left in an inte

by jbm 3y ago

I wasn't too clear about what I meant, but is storage even necessary here? For example, would there be an issue if the desalination process was left in an intermediate state for X hours / days while power is intermittent? I wonder if there are more energy-expensive desalinization processes that are better to use with intermittent power sources, like solar.

tguvot 3y ago
desalination plants are built to produce specific amount of water in order to cope with demand. if you going to stop desalinating while there is no solar, you need more plants in order to desalinate more water during the day. also, in general, even during day, solar not always available.
- janalsncm 3y ago
  Sure. So if for example your city has an average of 3400 hours of sun per year like Jerusalem does, and you know how much water you need to produce in the 8760 hours of the year, you can calculate how much to desalinate during sunny hours. Excesses can be used for excess water or sold back to the grid.
  - tguvot 3y ago
    desalination plants don't serve one city. they serve country. also, in general, it's not economical to build plants that do not work 24/7 unless you are country that can spend x3 to overbuild and keep equipment idle Israel btw supplies desalinated water to Jordan and PA.
    - janalsncm 3y ago
      I think we’re talking past one another. Solar is definitely economical in certain circumstances, and every country overbuilds to some extent. Whether building excess solar makes sense is a question of cost of a marginal unit of energy, since the water doesn’t care what powered its desalination. The energy isn’t wasted since it will eventually need to come from somewhere. Another consideration is political sovereignty, since solar can’t easily be turned off by a foreign adversary.
      - tguvot 3y ago
        i was talking about the fact, that if suggested to desalinate water only during sunny hours it requires overbuilding desalination plants. not solar

by jbm 3y ago

tguvot 3y ago

desalination plants are built to produce specific amount of water in order to cope with demand. if you going to stop desalinating while there is no solar, you need more plants in order to desalinate more water during the day. also, in general, even during day, solar not always available.

janalsncm 3y ago
Sure. So if for example your city has an average of 3400 hours of sun per year like Jerusalem does, and you know how much water you need to produce in the 8760 hours of the year, you can calculate how much to desalinate during sunny hours. Excesses can be used for excess water or sold back to the grid.
- tguvot 3y ago
  desalination plants don't serve one city. they serve country. also, in general, it's not economical to build plants that do not work 24/7 unless you are country that can spend x3 to overbuild and keep equipment idle Israel btw supplies desalinated water to Jordan and PA.
  - janalsncm 3y ago
    I think we’re talking past one another. Solar is definitely economical in certain circumstances, and every country overbuilds to some extent. Whether building excess solar makes sense is a question of cost of a marginal unit of energy, since the water doesn’t care what powered its desalination. The energy isn’t wasted since it will eventually need to come from somewhere. Another consideration is political sovereignty, since solar can’t easily be turned off by a foreign adversary.
    - tguvot 3y ago
      i was talking about the fact, that if suggested to desalinate water only during sunny hours it requires overbuilding desalination plants. not solar