Optimizing the Investment Strategy of Fully Renewable Energy Water Systems

Abstract

The interdependence between the water and power sectors is of growing concern as the need for desalination increases. Therefore, co-optimizing interdependent systems is necessary to understand the sectors impact on one another. We propose a framework to identify the optimal investment mix for a co-optimized water-power system, and apply it to NEOM, Saudi Arabia. Our results show that investment strategies that consider the co-optimization of both systems result in total cost savings for the power sector, when compared to naïve approaches. Analysis results suggest that the system with higher shares of non-dispatchable renewables experience the largest cost reductions.