What is the energy cost associated with desalination?

It’s also an energy hog: Desalination plants around the world consume more than 200 million kilowatt-hours each day, with energy costs an estimated 55 percent of plants’ total operation and maintenance costs.

What form of energy is used in the process of removing the salt from seawater?

The “Thermal Desalination-Solar Energy” is to heat seawater with the thermal energy converted from solar energy through the solar collector, then evaporate the seawater and obtain fresh water by condensation.

Is desalination expensive does the process require much energy?

But desalination is expensive. It’s also an energy hog: Desalination plants around the world consume more than 200 million kilowatt-hours each day, with energy costs an estimated 55 percent of plants’ total operation and maintenance costs.

What does it cost to desalinate sea water?

Desalinated water typically costs about $2,000 an acre foot — roughly the amount of water a family of five uses in a year. The cost is about double that of water obtained from building a new reservoir or recycling wastewater, according to a 2013 study from the state Department of Water Resources.

How much energy does it take to desalinate ocean water?

The theoretical absolute minimum amount of energy required by natural osmosis to desalinate average seawater is approximately 1 kilowatt-hour per cubic meter (kwh/m3) of water produced, or 3.8 kilowatt-hours per thousand gallons (kwh/kgal).

How much does a desalination unit cost?

Design capacity of the KBH plant is 27.5 million gallons per day (MGD). The 2010 biennial report on seawater desalination projected that it will cost approximately $32 million to build a 2.5 MGD seawater desalination plant, and approximately $658 million to build a 100 MGD seawater desalination plant in Texas.

How much money does it cost to build a desalination plant?

The nonpartisan research group recently issued a lengthy report on the state of desalination in California. Beyond the environmental cost is the actual price tag: the plant in Carlsbad cost $1 billion to build, with a rough estimate of $50 million a year for the power to run it.