A small PV-driven reverse osmosis desalination plant on the island of Gran Canaria

A reverse osmosis (RO) plant with an average daily drinking water production of 0.8¯3 m3/d was installed by the Aachen University of Applied Sciences and the Energy and Water Research Centre of the Canary Islands Technological Institute (CIEA-ITC) at the test fields of the Spanish institute in Pozo Izquierdo (Gran Canaria Island). The plant is supplied by a stand-alone 4.8 kWp photovoltaic (PV) system with an additional battery storage of 60 kWh. The installation constitutes the smallest PV-supplied seawater desalination plant currently in operation. On behalf of this prototype, the feasibility of small PV¯¯RO systems (1¯5 m3/d) is being investigated. The technical details of the RO plant and the energy supply are presented briefly and the operation strategies of the system are presented. Three different regulation strategies for the energy management of the plant are compared and recommendations for an optimized operation are given.