Follow the link to the article, "Finding New Synergies between Water and Energy" and the linked webinar hosted by the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas regarding IPHROS. Listen to experts Dr. Maha Haji, Assistant Professor, Cornell University, and Neal Aronson, CEO, Oceanus Power & Water discuss site location and technical details of IPHROS.
Also quoted in the article is MIT Professor Alexander Slocum describing the inherent advantages of bringing together a pumped hydro system to store energy with a reverse osmosis system to desalinate water. The ocean acts as the lower reservoir and a lined reservoir built at high elevation stores sea water water, and therefore energy. Slocum notes, "it's a giant battery to go along with wind and solar."
"Water is pumped up to the reservoir, using wind or solar energy, and stored. When the wind isn’t blowing, or the sun isn’t shining, water is released through pipes and flows through turbines, generating electricity on its way back to the sea. In other words, an intermittent source of energy can now be constant."
"The second part of the system is the desalination plant, which uses a reverse osmosis process to extract fresh water from salt water. The process, which involves forcing water under pressure through semipermeable membranes, normally requires significant energy; it also generates about one liter of brine, which is very salty and toxic to marine life, for every liter of fresh water produced."
"Currently, one expensive part of desalination is dealing with the brine that is left over once fresh water has been extracted. It can’t be discharged directly into the sea, so it has to be pumped out long outflow pipes to slowly mix with sea water. With an integrated system, the brine could be released into the massive flow of water going through the turbines, which would dilute it to safe levels, Slocum said."
"Pumped hydro storage is already in wide use in Switzerland, to cite one example, and a system using sea water has been operating successfully for years in Okinawa, Japan. Reverse osmosis plants, meanwhile, are used in many arid parts of the world. “You wouldn’t have the modern Middle East without reverse osmosis,” Slocum said."
"The idea of combining these power and water systems is not original. Slocum said a Japanese researcher working for the United Nations came up with the concept in the 1970s, but nothing came of it at a time when fossil fuels were cheap, renewables expensive, and climate change a less pressing concern. Now, Slocum said, the circumstances are very different. “If the world does not quickly evolve into a renewable-based energy society, game over for everyone, no matter how wealthy you are.”"
Source: ECPA website featuring ECPA Media Blog article,"Finding New Synergies between Water and Energy" (May 2020).
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