ABSTRACT
The wider use of desalination technologies is still limited, primarily because of high energy requirements that are currently met with expensive fossil fuels (Ghaffour et al., 2015). The use of alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, are essential to meet the growing demands for water desalination. However, the expansion of these efforts towards large-scale plants is hampered by techno-economic challenges. For example, many plants are connected to the electrical grid to assure a continuous energy supply for stable operation. The successful application of renewable technology requires an understanding of sustainable development. In particular, there is a need to find a balance between three sets of goals: social, economic and environmental.
