Tri‐objective optimization of a synergistic wind‐photovoltaic plant for water desalination addressing sustainable development goals
Hedayat Saboori, Hasan Mehrjerdi
Abstract
Abstract The sixth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) announced by the United Nations addresses water and sanitation; its first target is providing safe and affordable drinking water. Water desalination is introduced as a viable alternative considering the present situation of the water resources and their consumption and pollution. However, desalination processes' high energy intensity conflicts with energy and climate‐related SDGs. Correspondingly, the first target of SGD 6 can be translated to an affordable, eco‐friendly, and reliable water desalination. However, these objectives are conflicting considering the current status of desalination. Accordingly, this article proposes a novel multi‐objective model by quantifying the interweaved sustainable development goals for water desalination. To this end, a tri‐objective mixed‐integer linear model is developed to compromise the abovementioned goals, that is, water production cost, supply reliability, and carbon emission. The proposed water desalination system is fed by a combined wind‐photovoltaic‐diesel system, employs power and water storage, and seeks a trade‐off solution based on the planner's preferences. The model is flexible in terms of the degree of achievement of each goal. A detailed analysis is performed, enabling the decision‐maker to comprehend the goals interlinkage based on the degree of achievements and deterioration concerning the other goals.