Sea water desalination with solar power

So much sun, why are not all seawater desalination plants operated by solar electric power? The reason until now had been the parameters of electric power storage technology.



 A typical sunny country needing sea water desalination has usual more than 2000 kWh / m² solar irradiation per year. But such an equipment is an investition which should work 24 hours a day. Here the cost of electric power storage decides about the economy of solar energy.
Parameter Lead OGRON Lithium
EUR per kWh electric power storage
EUR per kW peak photovoltaic
kWh yearly yield per kW peak
% interest
% efficiency of storage
Number of full cycles
EUR cost per kWh solar electricity direct
EUR cost per kWh stored
EUR per kWh total
EUR electric power cost per m³ sea water (2,5 kWh)
Solar electric power is cheap. Lead acid batteries are expensive. Only a new generation of lithium batteries makes an economical use of solar power at the sea water desalination possible.