{"id":81066,"date":"2020-11-16T05:15:29","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T05:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/?post_type=perspective&p=81066"},"modified":"2022-08-29T08:02:13","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T08:02:13","slug":"fresh-water-fresh-ideas-can-renewable-energy-be-the-future-of-desalination","status":"publish","type":"perspective","link":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/fresh-water-fresh-ideas-can-renewable-energy-be-the-future-of-desalination\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresh water; fresh ideas. Can renewable energy be the future of desalination?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are running out of drinking water.<\/p>\n

Agriculture, industry, urbanization and population growth, are all increasing demand; climate change is decreasing supply.\u00a0 For every one degree Celsius of global warming, 7% of the world could see 20% of renewable water resources dry up.[1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 <\/sup>If we are to combat water scarcity, we must consume less, waste less, re-use, and create more.<\/p>\n

In the stark words of McKinsey & Company, \u201cThe supply of fresh water has been steadily decreasing while demand has been steadily rising.\u00a0 In the 20th<\/sup> Century, the world\u2019s population quadrupled\u2014but water use increased six-fold.\u201d<\/em> [2]<\/strong><\/a><\/sup> <\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Hard to swallow: the harsh facts of water scarcity<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • 1 in 3 people do not have access to safe drinking water.[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
  • The Middle East consumes 203 billion cubic meters of potable water per year[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Seventeen countries\u2014home to one-quarter of the world’s population\u2014face “extremely high” levels of baseline water stress.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Supply could decline by up to 25% in many of the world\u2019s water basins by 2050.[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Water scarcity could cost some regions up to 6% of GDP and lead to mass migration and conflict.[7]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    \u2018Seawater\u2019; make water<\/h2>\n

    \"IDAWater desalination is the process of extracting salts from saline water to create fresh water.\u00a0 Globally, more than 300 million people depend on desalination, according to the International Desalination Association<\/u>.[8]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

    The most popular methods are thermal desalination and reverse osmosis.\u00a0 Thermal desalination uses heat to vaporize fresh water from seawater or brackish water.<\/p>\n

    Reverse osmosis separates fresh water by forcing seawater or brackish water through a membrane at high pressure.<\/p>\n

    There are more than 17,000 desalination plants globally, producing 107 million cubic meters of desalinated water every day.[9]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

    Many countries simply could not function without it.\u00a0 The Middle East accounts for just under half of total capacity, while Asia, China, the United States, and South America are scaling up their desalination capacity fast.<\/p>\n

    So, clearly, we have the technology and a virtually limitless supply of water.\u00a0 What\u2019s the problem?<\/p>\n

    Two of the main obstacles are the cost and the sustainability, or lack of.\u00a0 The simple truth is that desalination can consume a lot of energy.\u00a0 In Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) countries, about 50% of primary energy is consumed for cogeneration based power and desalination plants.[10]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0<\/sup>Reverse osmosis is more efficient than thermal desalination, but everything is relative: the average reverse osmosis plant burns through up to 13-kilowatt hours per thousand gallons processed.[11]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Who pays for that energy?\u00a0 In a sense, we all do.\u00a0 Global CO2<\/sub> emissions from carbon-powered desalination plants could reach 218 million tons in 2020.[12]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 An expensive solution that accelerates climate change is far from ideal, particularly for the many low and middle-income countries most impacted by water scarcity.<\/p>\n

    Fortunately, the world is waking up to the challenge.<\/p>\n

    \n

    \u201cEmitting more carbon dioxide to solve a problem caused in large part by climate change is clearly unsustainable and self-defeating.\u00a0 Despite the challenges, I strongly believe there are many reasons to be positive.\u00a0 Recent advances in technology and R&D suggest that renewable desalination is on the verge of a breakthrough that could transform global water systems,\u201d<\/em> says Fady Jameel<\/a>, Deputy President and Vice Chairman, Abdul Latif Jameel.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    \"Water<\/h2>\n

    Huge potential for renewable desalination<\/h2>\n

    \"GlobalThe Global Clean Water Desalination<\/a> Alliance has set a goal for 20% of new desalination plants to be powered by renewables between 2020-2025.[13]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 <\/sup>Founded by the International Desalination Association, the alliance includes energy and desalination industries, water utilities, governments, financing institutions, academia, and R&D “with the goal to reduce CO2<\/sub> emissions from existing water desalination plants and to scale up the use of clean desalination technologies through coordinated actions<\/em>.”[14]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

    Globally, the current share of renewable energy used in desalination is around 1%.[15]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Pioneering governments are embracing this untapped potential.\u00a0 Saudi Arabia has brought forward its Vision 2030 target of generating 9.5GW of renewable energy to 2023.<\/p>\n

    In Western Australia, all new desalination plants must use renewable energy<\/a>.\u00a0 From Europe to India, to China, many others are following their lead.\u00a0 These nations may be obliged to reduce emissions under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.\u00a0 They are certainly driven by the humanitarian and economic crisis of water scarcity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    What kind of energy will they harness?<\/p>\n

    The renewable options for desalination<\/h2>\n

    \"Fresh<\/p>\n

    In theory, desalination can be powered by wind, wave, geothermal or solar energy.\u00a0 Each has its advantages and drawbacks, as outlined below.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \"Advantages<\/p>\n

    Wind<\/h4>\n

    Wind is a popular, established renewable energy source that can generate electricity for reverse osmosis desalination.\u00a0 Most large-scale renewable energy powered desalination projects are wind-powered.[16]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Wind-powered desalination is particularly well-suited to coastal and island communities due to the proximity to the energy source, water source, and user population.<\/p>\n

    According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA<\/a>), notable wind-based desalination plants include Gran Canaria (Wind-RO, seawater, 5\u201350 m3<\/sup>\/d), Fuerteventura (Wind-diesel hybrid system, seawater, 56 m3<\/sup>\/d), both in the Spanish Canary Islands and the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology in the UK (Wind-RO, seawater, 12 m3<\/sup>\/d).[17]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

    In Australia, the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant, the first of its kind in the country, is powered by electricity generated by the 80-megawatt Emu Downs Wind Farm.\u00a0 The wind farm contributes 270 gigawatt-hours per year to the grid, more than offsetting the 180 gigawatt-hour per year requirement from the desalination plant.[18]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Similarly, the Sydney Desalination Plant is powered entirely by a wind farm, which has also increased the supply of wind energy in New South Wales by over 700%.<\/p>\n

    Wave<\/h4>\n

    The seas contain immense kinetic energy.\u00a0 An average 4-foot, 10-second wave striking a coast puts out more than 35,000 horsepower per mile of coast.[19]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Wave energy is difficult to harness,[20]<\/sup><\/a> but there has been a promising pilot in Western Australia.\u00a0 In 2014, Garden Island became the first “commercial-scale wave-powered project in the world to demonstrate both power and freshwater production from the ocean waves,” according to Water Technology.[21]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 A wave-powered desalination system is also planned for Cape Verde, off the west coast of Africa.\u00a0 The developer, Resolute Marine Energy, claims the so-called Wave20 plant will produce drinking water at a third of the price of conventional systems.\u00a0 The system harnesses wave energy to pressurize water and pump it to a treatment plant onshore, while a series of paddles move back and forth by the waves to create electricity which is used to filter the seawater.[22]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

    \"Fresh<\/p>\n

    Geothermal<\/h4>\n

    Geothermal energy can generate electricity and heat, making it suitable for both thermal desalination and reverse osmosis.\u00a0 A project in Milos Island, Greece, proved the viability of geothermal energy for desalination, producing 1,920 m3<\/sup>\/d of fresh water for the local community at very low costs.[23]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 However, the process is significantly limited by location.<\/p>\n

    Solar<\/h4>\n

    Solar power<\/a> is widely regarded as having the most potential as a long-term, renewable energy source for sustainable desalination.\u00a0 There are two main solar-powered desalination types: Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Photo-Voltaic (PV).\u00a0 CSP generates direct heat and is typically used to evaporate water in thermal desalination.\u00a0 PV uses solar panels to generate electricity, which powers the pumps for reverse osmosis.\u00a0 According to the World Bank, “PV-based reverse osmosis solar desalination is the leading solar energy choice and is the main focus of further research.\u201d<\/em>[24]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

    Solar power is abundant in the sunny, arid regions that need desalination the most.\u00a0 These regions also tend to have large desert or wilderness areas which provide the space required to build new plants.\u00a0 According to Applied Water Science, \u201cabout 75% of thermal desalination sites are installed in Arab countries, and half of them are active in Saudi Arabia.\u201d[25]<\/strong><\/sup><\/a><\/em>\u00a0 Thermal desalination, powered by CSP, is not typically as efficient as reverse osmosis, but is better at treating the saltier water found in such regions, which can be as high as 45 or even 50 grams per liter (g\/L). \u00a0High salt concentrations can damage the membrane used in reverse osmosis.[26]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

    Most solar desalination projects are small to medium scale but getting bigger.\u00a0 The largest PV plant is in Saudi Arabia. \u00a0Al Khafji was commissioned in 2017, and produces 60,000 cubic meters of potable water a day through reverse osmosis.[27]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 More are on the way.\u00a0 The Metito plant under construction in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) will launch with the capacity to produce 30,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day, expandable to 60,000 cubic meters per day.[28]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

    Abdul Latif Jameel<\/a> is playing an increasingly significant role in addressing the desalination challenge through \u00a0Almar Water Solutions<\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\n

    \"AlmarPart of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy<\/a>, Almar Water Solutions is a specialist provider of technical capabilities for water infrastructure development, including design, financing and operation.\u00a0 It is a sister company to Fotowatio Renewable Ventures<\/a>, <\/u>(FRV), a specialist renewable energy business.<\/p>\n

    In January 2019, Almar Water Solutions was awarded the contract in Saudi Arabia to develop Al <\/u>Shuqaiq 3 IWP<\/a>, <\/u>one of the world\u2019s largest reverse osmosis desalination plants, located near the Red Sea city of Al Shuqaiq.\u00a0 When it is completed in 2021, it will deliver 450,000m3<\/sup> of clean water each day.<\/p>\n