Large Scale Desalination: Potential for a Significant Electric Energy Market

The utilization of electric generation capacity is generally set by studies of load growth. In recent years, load growth in developed countries has not been at high levels, and the utilization of some renewable generation resources have exacerbated this issue. In this paper, a new market for large scale seawater desalination is proposed and discussed. The main elements of the discussion center on power system load factor improvement, the improvement of net present value, and also the coordination of desalination activity with system unit commitment. As a background, added water resources are noted as an important worldwide priority. The focus is on reverse osmosis as the desalination method.