Techno Economical Feasibility Analysis of Solar Powered RO Desalination in Sultanate of Oman

Desalination is of prime importance in middle east countries as its water requirement is increasing day by day. Breakdown in the cost of the solar technologies and the improvements in the technologies of desalination pave the way for a feasibility analysis of solar powered desalination in Sultanate of Oman. Among the desalination processes, Reverse Osmosis (RO) with Pressure exchange membrane found to be less energy consuming and more suitable for solar powered desalination. Emission analysis is done and tones of carbon dioxide emission saved on each solar powered desalination projects are calculated. Financial feasibility of the solar PV powered and concentrated solar powered projects are analyzed with different cases in RET screen software and found that the concentrated solar power projects will be a viable option for middle east countries like Oman if carbon credit scheme is implemented and proper energy storage devices are incorporated to the solar thermal concentrators for its power generation capability.