Standalone CSP-DG system for electrification of remote areas and desalinated water supply

Abstract

The increasing demand for electricity is requiring a continuous expansion of the power grid. In many rural areas, however, the geographical location makes the connection to the grid extremely complicated and expensive. The electrification of these areas has been achieved in most cases through off grid systems based on diesel generators. The latter is a well-known and reliable technology which however presents some disadvantages, such as high maintenance and operational costs as well as difficulty in the fuel transport. Among renewables, solar energy instead has the major drawback of not being continuous because inevitably linked to the availability of irradiation unless to provide too much expensive storage.Hybrid systems combining fossil source and renewables may be a strategic choice able to combine the advantages and mitigate drawbacks of both technologies.The proposed match of diesel generator (DG) and concentrated solar energy systems (CSP) may allow to fulfill with high flexibility desalinated water needs as well as the daily and seasonal power demand of a remote village. The techno-economical analysis showed that the proposed architecture may be cheaper than one based on photovoltaic and competitive with a DG standalone system. From environmental point of view, the hybrid solution accounts for a consistent reduction of CO2 emissions.