3.2. Photovoltaic Solar Energy for the BWRO Desalination
Previous studies have shown that significant cost reduction in electricity generation can be achieved by installing solar energy technologies in combination with water pumping systems. The cost reduction was associated with reduced water losses through improving the water pump efficiency and supplying the needed electric power for the operation of the pumps by solar energy [
34]. In Jordan, which has some of the highest solar radiation values globally, PV energy represents a solution with great potential to improve energy and economic efficiency in various economic sectors and industries [
31]. Due to the significant electricity consumption in Jordan, PV solar panels have already been applied and implemented in many economic activities, mainly for water pumping systems [
14,
35]. It was also found, in this study, that the PV panels have been installed in multiple BW desalination plants in Jordan, especially in the agricultural sector, contributing to a favorable reduction in overall water costs, as has been demonstrated. The techno-economic feasibility of PV-BWRO systems was assessed, in order to reach our energy benchmark target, by reducing the energy consumption and costs associated with the electricity grid.
Figure 4 shows the estimated energy and economic reduction ranges obtained with the PV solar energy, compared with the electricity grid, for the assessed BWRO desalination plants in the agricultural sector, domestic sector, and industrial sectors over their estimated lifetime.
Table 6 shows the economic and energy assessment in the case of implementing the PV as the primary energy source for the assessed BWRO desalination plants.
By looking at the PV specific energy consumption analysis trend shown in
Table 6 and
Figure 5, it can be deduced that some of the assessed BWRO desalination plants still need some improvements to reach our targeted energy benchmark (1.3 kWh/m
3). This is mainly for the BWRO stations in the industrial sector, followed by Al-Kafrain (banana) in the agricultural sector, which showed an elevated energy consumption even though it was already supported by PV panels. It can be concluded, from
Table 4, that the most significant financial and energy losses were observed for the assessed BWRO plants in the industrial sectors. The high energy and cost losses reported for the assessed BWRO stations in the industrial sector in this study are a reflective situation for all of the industries in Jordan. High energy costs represent the greatest threat to the sustainable capability of industrial businesses in Jordan [
12]. The lack of sustainable management planning in the energy sector and the substantial reliance on imported fossil fuels have crippled many industries in Jordan due to increased energy costs, which have led to severe inflation in the electricity tariff, as elaborated earlier [
12,
36]. Thus, it is critically important to call for energy minimization improvements and long-term energy strategies, such as the use of renewable energy sources, which several business owners have already suggested in Jordan. In this study, PV solar energy showed favorable energy cost reduction ability for the industrial sector, as shown in
Figure 6. However, even with the PV-BWRO configuration, the SEC obtained by plants in the industrial sector, especially those of Aquaduva (2.47 kWh/m
3) and Arab Potash (2.25 kWh/m
3), were still far from our target of 1.3 kWh/m
3. Thus, the conducted assessment for the industrial sector indicates a need to develop additional efforts beyond the sole use of PV solar energy, in order to minimize water/energy losses and the accompanying financial losses. In general, it can be concluded that the PV solar energy obtained favorable energy consumption and cost reductions, comparing the values shown in
Table 5 and
Table 6 for all the BWRO desalination plants from different sectors. The PV solar energy reduced energy costs by 69–74%, compared to electricity from the grid, for the assessed agricultural, domestic, and industrial BWRO desalination plants. This resulted in a more than 50% total cost reduction for the assessed BWRO desalination plants over their estimated lifetimes.
However, there is a need to optimize the energy reduction efforts for the BWRO desalination plants that were slightly elevated, compared to our energy benchmark target. It is crucial to reconsider the operational scheme of the RO systems in the industrial sector, and to check the areas contributing to the most extensive amounts of energy consumption and losses. On the other hand, in the case of the Al-Kafrain (banana) BWRO station, improving the SEC by reducing water and energy losses could be achieved by adequately maintaining the BWRO system and improving technical education on PV solar panels, which was one of the main challenges portrayed in the survey responses. To further confirm the economic feasibility of PV-BWRO desalination, it is essential to refer to previous financial analysis studies in Jordan in the literature, in order to obtain a cost comparison. According to the study of Al-Jayyousi, the average desalination costs in Jordan in the agricultural sector is 0.35 USD/m
3, when powered by the electricity network [
23]. In this study, the desalination costs in the agricultural sector, when powered by the electricity network, were about 0.62 USD/m
3. This shows that the water cost has increased by 1.7 times over a two-decade period, in line with the water and electricity price inflation conflict addressed in this study. On the other hand, it was challenging to find previous data on desalination costs in Jordan’s domestic and industrial sectors. In the MENA region, the average costs of brackish water desalination using conventional energy are in the range of 0.23–1.17 USD/m
3 [
22]. However, California’s average brackish water desalination costs are about 0.4–0.75 USD/m
3 for the domestic and industrial sectors [
36]. Meanwhile, the desalination costs of the domestic and industrial sectors in this study were 0.6–1.18 USD/m
3. These are alarmingly high prices in Jordan, a middle-income country, when compared to those in California, the largest economy in the United States. It can be concluded that reducing the costs associated with water production from brackish water desalination plants is critical in Jordan, which can be facilitated by installing PV solar power systems. However, energy remains one of Jordan’s top challenges. Thus, it is important to implement proper management action plans to address these challenges, in order to increase the dependence on PV solar energy as a substitute for the conventional fuel used for electricity production. Many challenges are still faced, due to the lack of cooperation between Jordan’s water and energy sectors. Still, these challenges could be addressed and accomplished through effective communication with experts and specialists, strengthening the collaboration between the water and energy sectors. Furthermore, it is essential to ensure that applicable stakeholders in the country deal professionally with such challenges, from the perspectives of complexity in water and energy governance in Jordan and the MENA region overall.