Presented at 33 rd IEEE NECEC conference November 14, 2024, St. John's, NL Design and Simulation of a Floating Solar Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System in Kish Island Fatemeh Kafrashi, Muhammad Kashif, and Mohammad Tariq Iqbal Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada fkafrashi@mun.ca, mkashif22@mun.ca, tariq@mun.ca l address or ORCID Abstract — This paper presents a comprehensive design and simulation of a floating solar-powered reverse osmosis (RO) system to address water scarcity on Kish Island. The study employs HOMER Pro software for economic and technical analysis to optimize the hybrid photovoltaic-battery system, ensuring reliable electricity supply for the desalination process. The system consists of 4.36 kW floating solar panels, a 48V battery bank, and a 4 kW inverter, all designed to meet a daily energy demand of 12 kWh for water desalination system. Dynamic modeling in MATLAB/Simulink validates the operation of the solar-powered system, including maximum power point tracking (MPPT), a buck converter, inverter, Proportional-Resonant (PR) controller and a step up transformer to ensure efficient power delivery to the load. The simulation results demonstrate that the system can sustainably meet water demand with a 100% renewable fraction and a battery autonomy of 50.4 hours. Additionally, surge protection and grounding mechanisms are integrated to ensure system reliability under various environmental conditions. This innovative solution significantly reduces reliance on fossil fuels, supports environmental sustainability, and offers a scalable model for similar applications in water-scarce regions. Keywords— Floating Solar, Reverse Osmosis, Drinking Water System, Desalination, Homer Pro, Dynamic Simulation, Solar Energy, Kish Island I. INTRODUCTION The world is grappling with a growing demand for fresh drinking water amid an escalating global population and advancing technologies. Sustainable solutions are urgently needed [1], with only 2.53% of Earth's water classified as freshwater [2]. While traditional reverse osmosis (RO) desalination systems are effective, they face challenges such as high energy consumption and frequent chemical cleaning. In response, solar-based RO plants are becoming popular, utilizing photovoltaic power to reduce energy demands [3]. The integration of solar power and RO technology presents a critical opportunity to address global water scarcity while ensuring sustainable access to clean water. Though RO is highly efficient at removing contaminants and producing high-quality water, it is energy-intensive. This energy demand significantly impacts operational costs and environmental sustainability [4].The use of floating photovoltaic systems in conjunction with RO technology offers significant benefits, including enhanced efficiency from the natural cooling effect, reduced installation costs, and improved system durability. Moreover, integrating solar energy into RO systems in remote communities helps address water scarcity by converting brackish or seawater into potable water, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and lowering carbon footprints [1]. Several studies have investigated solar-powered desalination systems as sustainable solutions for freshwater production, focusing on renewable energy sources to drive the desalination process [2]. A study [5] outlined a cost-effective solar-powered drinking water solution designed for the isolated island of Sandwip in Bangladesh. The system uses PVRO system to purify brackish water with 2000 to 5000 mg/l salinity. The purified water, with a salinity of 233 mg/l, met both WHO and Bangladesh standards. The water purification cost was $0.002 per liter, which was lower than the cost of bottled water in Bangladesh. Compared to other power generation systems in the region, the solar system cost was $0.13 per kWh. Researchers have made significant advancements by combining PV cells and multi-stage devices to create self-floating, anti-overturning systems. These systems feature a monolithic design that integrates PV cells, multi-stage MD devices, and water channels into lightweight frames. This integration has set new standards for co-generation devices that produce both clean water and electricity on water bodies. The innovation highlights the importance of multi-stage configurations in achieving efficient mass transfer during solar- driven water-electricity generation [6]. This study presents the design of a Floating photovoltaic reverse osmosis (FPVRO) system utilizing floating solar panels to efficiently address the water demand of Kish Island through a cost-effective and sustainable design. II. SITE SELECTION Approximately 90% of Iran's fresh renewable water is currently utilized, highlighting the significant water stress prevailing throughout the nation[7] . The construction of hydroelectric dams, aimed at meeting Iran's increasing electricity demands and water loss through inefficient irrigation methods, further strains the country's water resources. Also, due to its dry climate and 12 scarce freshwater reserves, Iran has prioritized adopting desalination technologies to fulfill water needs along its coastlines [8]. The unique location of this restaurant, built on the southeastern side of the Kish Island coast, at the geographical coordinates of 26.5184° latitude and 54.0487° longitude. Figure 1 shows the selected site location. Fig 1. Selected Site Location. Figure 2 illustrates the solar irradiance data of the site, along with the clearness index. Using Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resoutrces (HOMER) software, meteorological data was obtained from NASA’s Satellite-derived Meteorological Data and the NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource (POWER) project. According to HOMER Pro, the region has an average annual solar irradiance of 5.6 kWh/m²/day, with peak irradiance occurring in June and the lowest in December.