Abstract: S-CO₂ Brayton cycle-based solar system for electricity and fresh water productions is designed. The working principle as well as the configuration of the system is introduced. The operation performance and exergy analyses of the system are carried out. The results show that the output power and Brayton cycle efficiency of the system are 233.8 MW and 37.5%. The daily fresh water output is 3981.6 t.Increasing the solar intensity can improve the output power as well as the overall energy efficiency of the system. The exergy analysis results under the design condition reveal that the exergy loss in the solar tower is the maximum,which is 303.99 MW. Its corresponding exergy efficiency is 64.45%. The exergy efficiency in the heat exchanger of desalination device is the lowest,and the corresponding exergy loss is relatively large. With the solar intensity increased,the solar tower,heat exchanger of desalination device and two recuperators all have varying degrees of exergy loss increase. Hence,for the further optimization of the system,the performances of these components should be given priority.