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Abstract
Most countries in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region currently face water scarcity and rising water demand. In order to respond to these challenges, many MENA countries proceed to the use of desalination. As desalination processes are highly energy-intensive, the use of conventional energy for the operation of desalination plants contributes to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions, with negative impacts on the water cycle. The use of renewable energy sources to supply desalination plants with electricity can be a more sustainable and environmentally friendlier option to bridge the water demand gap. The present paper outlines the main barriers to desalination using renewable energies (referred to in short as ‘renewable energy desalination’, RED) in most MENA countries, gives an overview of main features of the water and energy policies in the MENA region, and compares them to the framework conditions in Australia or Spain. Supportive policy approaches to overcome the existing barriers and to promote RED are highlighted. The paper advocates the importance of adopting a more consistent legal framework to foster the deployment of RED and thereby reduce the effects of climate change and water scarcity.
Notes
Presented at the International Conference on Desalination for the Environment, Clean Water and Energy, European Desalination Society, 23–26 April 2012, Barcelona, Spain
1LGCs are created based on the amount of eligible renewable electricity produced by the power stations. One LGC equals one megawatt hour (MWh) of generated RE electricity, whereas STCs are created for these installations according to the amount of electricity they produce or displace.