Promotion of renewable energy sources for water production through desalination

Abstract

The balance between water demand and availability has reached a critical level in many areas of Europe, the result of over-abstraction and prolonged periods of low rainfall or drought. Desalination of seawater and brackish water is one of the alternatives for ensuring a reliably supply of drinking water. Renewable energy sources (RES) coupled to desalination offers a promising prospect for covering the fundamental needs of power and water. Various initiatives and projects over the past few years have been covering the field of RE-desalination. The project entitled "Promotion of RES for Water Production through Desalination, ProDes" started on the 1st of October 2008 and it will run for two years. The ProDes project has been carefully designed in order to build on the past and exiting efforts and coordinate its activities with them in order to maximize the expected outcomes. The present paper presents the first results of the project and its general progress. © 2012 Desalination Publications.