EIMC2 Talk: Ahmed S. Alahmed

"Watts and Drops: Joint Scheduling of Power and Water in Desalination Plants"

This talk presents an analytical framework for the joint optimization of electricity and water schedules in water desalination and treatment plants. The plant integrates thermal and membrane-based technologies co-located with renewable generation, strategically participating in both water and electricity markets. I show that the optimal policy admits a closed-form, threshold-based structure in renewable availability: membrane-based production increases monotonically, thermal production decreases monotonically, and both respond according to analytically derived thresholds determined by technology parameters and tariff levels. These structural results yield simple, interpretable operational rules and provide immense insights on how water and electricity tariff parameters impact the plant’s optimal operation. Simulation results using realistic tariff and solar profiles quantify the gains from joint scheduling—higher renewable utilization, reduced grid dependence, and significant profit improvements relative to current benchmark algorithms.