1. Business Plan
product
Solar Desalination Plant
application of
Utilizing Solar Radiation in Water Desalination
by
Desert Fish

2. Business Summary
Usually, in any worldwide product, the business issue is one of the most
important stimulators that will help the product reach its estimated goal. Our product
is a very important product that will be used worldwide and it will be definitely sold
to governments or huge organizations, which cares about clean energy. Regarding our
product, we will try our best to market it through computers and small prototypes to
our targeted consumers: Governments and huge investors. After gaining financial
funding, we will open a small management company to produce our product. There
are two possible scenarios for our contract with our sponsor.
The first scenario leaves our company with the duty of constructing plant and
selling the water to the consumer; that way we must pay the investor (governmental or
private) interests on our profits.
The second scenario is to sell the water to the government or the investor
which later on sells its services to citizens.
Our price our technology are the two factors that well make our product
marketable. In short, we will leave the door open to any other business aspects that
will show us the way through success.

3. Marketing
In my country, Saudi Arabia, desalinating water is a very serious issue. About
three million barrels of oil are used to provide enough water every day; it is expected
that this number is going to triple in the next five years. Therefore, the Saudi
government is thinking of altering oil with other energy sources for desalinating sea
water. Utilizing solar energy to desalinate water has many advantages for our targeted
consumers: the governments. It helps their economies by cutting fuel spending. In
addition, such plants keep the environment clean. All government want their country
to be environmentally friendly.
A very important research center was formed by the Saudi government, i.e.,
"King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology" (KACST). The duty of this center
is to help sustain a more innovative, developed country. We aim to consult them into
helping us get our project to the desks of higher officials.
First of all, we plan to persuade (KACST) or similar organizations worldwide
to sponsor our innovative idea. Since these projects are what they are looking for,
their approval is expected. We will start working with them to improve our design and
technology. In addition, we will ask professional solar energy engineers and experts
for cooperation. In this way, we would try to make our project as complete and
flawless as possible.
Secondly, after making tests, the numbers are going to speak for themselves;
the enormous saving in operation costs and high efficiency would label our product as
outstanding! Media, worldwide, will hopefully give us attention upon our requests. At
this point, financial issues would not be very important.
Thirdly, after our product has gained acclaim and good reputation, it will make
governments and private investors interested when we contact them. We will present
our product and technology to them for thorough examinations, and they will be sure
that this product suites their needs efficiently. After that, our project is going to be
applied by the government, and we hope it is going to make a huge improvement in
our country's environmental and economic status.
Finally, we are very confident about our moves toward having this project
taken under the government’s sponsorship. It is obvious that it withstands their
requirements and it is actually what they are looking for.

4. Cost
Traditional water desalination plants require millions or even billions of
dollars in order to construct, e.g., the aqua sure desalination plant that was constructed
with a price of 4.8 billion. In addition to the cost of fuel used to power water
desalination plants. Unfortunately, burning fossil fuels is the vital source of energy for
these plants that can be a major disadvantage. Unlike these desalination plants, the
project we have come up with makes water desalination a much cheaper process.
Because the instruments of our project are hard to attain, their prices are hard
to find too. We made some estimations for the major parts of our project. Some
estimations may be slightly off-course, but they are good approximations.
 Construction and assembly
$300,000
 Excavation works
$75,000
 125 Heliostats (2m x 2m each).
$500,000
 Thermally insulated cylinder-like water container (diameter: 2m;
height: 1m).
$2,000
 Big concave mirror
$10,000
 Thermally insulated steam chamber.
$30,000
 Pole for hanging the concave mirror.
$5,000
 1 ton Bronze/Brass plate
$2,000
 Electronics (e.g., computer, cables, sensors, etc.)
$5,000
 Pipes and Valves
$3,000
According to our calculations, the grand total to build the plant is around:
$932,000 !

5. Funding mechanisms
Every project has a sponsor that supports them financially. In our case, aim to
gain our government's sponsorship. Our government always seeks evolution by
encouraging innovations and new methods. Our project is a suitable example for what
our government would support completely.
Our plan is to establish an executive office or a private company financially
supported by the government or a large investor. Our tasks are to acquire financial
funding, and manage and supervise the project's construction and operation. It is
obvious why the government would sponsor us; because they will get a fresh water
source for their people. However when dealing with a private investor, there are two
possible contracts. One leaves our company with the mission of selling the water to
the government; that way we must pay the investor interests on our profits. The other
is to sell the water to the company which later on sells its services to the government
or citizens. All these possible mechanisms profit both parts of the contract.
After getting the financial support, we would employ engineers in our
company, and we ought to make contracts with them in order to produce perfect
structural plans. In addition, technicians are very important for the different
facilitating and sections of the company, such as maintenance, field operations, and
marketing.
To build our project we would sign contracts with building, optical, solar, and
electrical companies that are familiar with similar projects. They will manufacture the
needed structures, electronic devices, and optical instruments.
We would also open research labs. They are essential for examining both
saline and fresh water in the facility to determine the appropriate intensity of the
process. These labs are the facilities that keep our products and water supply with
high quality.
Finally, depending on the contract with our sponsor, we would either sell or
give the fresh water to them.
Starting a company is the ignition to our project in order to prosper. But
starting a company demands financial support, management skills, and professional
engineers. These are the three necessary components that make our project a
flourishing one.

6. Competitive Reference
After a long path of researching and looking around many different Internet
sites, I glimpsed some products that uses similar technology to ours: Concentrated
solar power. In addition to other products that have the same purpose as ours:
desalinating water. There are too many factors that make our product unique. I’ll
mention them briefly in this piece of writing.
Technical advantages: One of our main methods is to concentrate solar power
directed to a point, which is going to be heated. To accomplish this side of the
product, a large amount of mirrors is needed, and a one huge concaved mirror, which
will be facing a water container. Having the water container attached to the ground is
one massive point that our product gains, why’s that?! During the research, I inferred
that intensity and efficiency of the used sunrays would grow widely whenever the
angle of the sunrays was closer to 90 degrees. Supposedly, our product will have the
sun rays set perpendicular with the water container.
Water is a matter that has mass; therefore, it needs power to be moved from
one place to another or to push it up. Regarding this issue, our product gains another
point to be added to the list of advantages, in our product the saline water flows
naturally from the ocean without even wasting any efforts to move the water from one
place to another. And I mean by efforts such as: Fuel, electrical power, or batteries.
The CSP tower that has a similar method, to a certain extent, consists of a
tower that is filled with water in the upper part, and some mirrors which are spread all
around the tower. These mirrors are set in a way to direct the reflected sunrays right to
the tower, specifically, the upper part that has the water. Compared to our product, the
CSP tower has a few drawbacks. First, the efficiency of the reflected sunrays would
be low because of the acute angle of the sunrays directed to the upper part of the
tower. Second, the CSP tower requires masses of power in order to push the water all
the way up through the tower.
Last but not least, one extra point is also added to our list because of the pure
natural source. Our product is one hundred percent natural, unlike other products.
After thinking and brainstorming we found an enormous natural energy source, which
is prevalent, especially, in our country, solar energy. We thought that we had to invent
an innovative, new, creative, special product that utilizes this wasted amounts of
energy that is given every day. The usage of the solar rays on daily basis gives us the
natural purity in our energy sources.
Compared to other products, our product is considered to have too many steps
that will definitely lead us to a huge success and will push through and hurdles or
obstacles that will try to hinder or impede the way of reaching success. The bright
idea of using the solar rays, which is a natural phenomenon, that will not negatively
affect our environment, and will definitely give lots and lots of benefit to the world,
and will hopefully solve a worldwide issue.