The present article discusses the application of a new technology using solar photovoltaic (PV) cell coupled with membrane distillation (MD) in the desalination of tap water. Salinity decreases the palatibility of water and causes long-term health issues. MD is the most promising technology to provide safe and clean drinking water to households and for other applications in small quantities. It consumes less energy than the existing commercial brackish water reverse osmosis (RO; pressure-driven) desalination technology (48%) used for the production of drinking water.
The potential of renewable energy is not only limited to electricity generation, but also for a variety of applications (heating, cooling, mechanical and cooking) spanning across several sectors (residential, commercial and industrial).
This Greepeace report is a documentation of 10 successful case studies from across India on how communities and individuals have used decentralised renewable energy to energise and empower their lives.
While eco-protection and energy efficiency measures played only a minor role in the oil producing countries of the Gulf region in the past, such issues are meanwhile receiving an increasing interest. The region is expected to carry on with an enormous market potential.
