Hybrid solar-wind farm site selection for reverse osmosis desalination: A case study in sistan and baluchestan using Geographic Information System

Iran, due to its location in arid and semi-arid climates, is one of the countries experiencing the most significant water stress. Given that the Sistan and Baluchestan province among other regions of the country, faces the highest water stress among other regions, there is an increasing need for a study that proposes solutions for utilizing brackish water in this province. This article, using Arc GIS 10.8 software, systematically identifies areas with surface and subsurface brackish water for the first time, for the construction of reverse osmosis desalination plants. These areas are technically and operationally suitable and simultaneously have the potential for wind and solar energy to power the plants. The research utilizes about 10 informational layers, including economic, environmental, technical, and geological potential. The amount of desalinated water is calculated based on the area of regions prone to having surface and subsurface brackish water resources, as well as areas with wind and solar energy potential, and the electricity generated by wind and photovoltaic power plants. Wind turbines with a capacity of 550 kilowatts and photovoltaic power plants with a capacity of 1 megawatt have been used in this study. If all the technically recoverable water is utilized, can, on average, produce 6643.56 and 9330.73 million cubic meters of freshwater using wind and solar energy, respectively, and on average, 20867.83 and 3047835.06 million cubic meters of freshwater from an operational perspective. This amount will fully meet the province’s freshwater needs, and the surplus can be transferred to other provinces. Technically, the cities of Saravan and Chabahar in Sistan and Baluchestan province have the highest potential for simultaneous production of electricity and desalinated water using wind and solar energy, respectively, and the city of Iranshahr also has the highest potential in terms of combined use of wind and solar energy. Operationally, the city of Zahedan has the highest potential for the simultaneous production of electricity and desalinated water using wind energy, and the city of Iranshahr has the highest potential using solar energy.