Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/107143
PROJECTS the shore, and for the all on-shore pipelines, while use of the less environmentally desirable cut-and-cover method will be minimized to applications required to complete the installation. The advantages and benefits of executing marine/terrestrial works by pipejacking include minimal impact on the environment (air, land and marine), minimal surface (seabed) disruption, lower emissions, minimal impact on existing infrastructures, zero impact on navigation and longer overall lifetime of the pipeline. SElf-GEnERaTinG EnERGy SuPPly SySTEm With the goal of minimizing the cost of the project's electrical power, while assuring its reliability, Sorek will deploy two redundant energy sources: a self-generating energy supply system (Independent Power Producer – IPP) to be built on site and serve as the plant's primary source of energy; and a 161 kV overhead line from the Israel Electric Company Grid that will operate mainly during off-peak hours. The self-generating energy supply system will be fueled by natural gas, resulting in lower electricity costs that will in turn contribute to a lower overall water price. minimizinG ThE PlanT'S EnviROnmEnTal imPaCT IDE strives to conduct its business with responsibility towards the environment and promotes the use of environmentally friendly technologies. The potential impacts of the Sorek project on the environment during construction and operation have been thoroughly assessed. The envisaged design and execution of the plant anticipate minimal impacts to the environment, and for those that cannot be avoided, a detailed mitigation plan is proposed. In this regard, special emphasis has been placed on the prevention/minimization of disturbances, dust and noise emissions and pollution of the marine, land, underground and air media, the landscape and visual/ aesthetic aspects, the rehabilitation of grounds, the use of recycled construction wastes and excess soil, and the use of environmentally friendly materials. Examples of the many environmentally motivated design decisions adopted in the project include the following: l Deployment of underground pipejacking methodologies for the laying of the pipeline to eliminate marine, shoreline and land impacts of any nature. l Location of the feedwater pumping station far (2,400 m) from the coastline and in locations that minimize impacts on the marine and shoreline environments. l Flow of feedwater by gravity to the pumping station located at the facility site. l Operations design that minimizes entrainment and impingement effects at the intake system; minimizing consumption of electricity and chemicals (especially CO2), thus reducing the emission of related greenhouse gases, air pollutants and noise. l of environmentally-harmless Use antiscalants and inorganic and treatable cleaning solutions; control and prevention of leakages and spillages; treatment of media filters and backwash with limestone reactors. l Delivery of the desalinated water at the site battery limit. l Discharge of the brine (concentrated feed water) back to the sea at a depth of 20 m approximately 2 km offshore, through an outfall system designed according to the recommendations of a dispersion model, enhancing quick brine dilution. l of natural gas to produce Use electrical power from a self-generating natural gas fired energy supply system (IPP). l Deployment of minimal external lighting. l Installation of solar PV systems on Sorek grounds. finanCinG PaCkaGE In view of the instability and the shortage of liquidity in international financial markets at the time, the project consortium invested great effort in examining and exploring various financial structures and sources of finance until reaching the most attractive financing package for the project. As a result, the project consortium created a unique two-tranche project finance package involving a trio of local and international lenders, including an Israelbased tranche denominated in New Israeli Shekels (NIS), and a Euro-denominated tranche based on the terms issued by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to the Government of Israel. Both tranches are equal in rights on a pari-passu (equal footing) basis. The facility agreements were executed in May 2011. The capital provided by these tranches represents senior debt that will cover 80% of the total project cost. The remaining 20% of the total project costs will be financed by equity injected by the shareholders during the construction period, pro-rata to the senior debt facility. The BOT agreement allows for financing in NIS, Euro and US$, and provides a mechanism to hedge against changes in the exchange rates, relevant inflations and base interest rates applicable to these currencies. This allowed SDL to optimize its price proposal by optimizing its sources of financing. The senior debt comprises: l Tranche (50% of the debt) NIS short-term nominal NIS financing during construction, to be replaced with long-term NIS financing linked to the consumer price index (CPI) by the same group of lenders during the last quarter of the 2nd year of ` operation. This long-term financing will be repaid during the operation period. l Tranche (50% of the debt) – EIB long-term Euro financing, drawn during construction and repaid during the operation period. This structure allows the consortium to take advantage of low short-term interest rates and to reduce its financing costs during the first concession period until the shortterm loans are replaced by long-term NIS loans linked to the CPI. This also applies to the EIB tranche, with the shifting of the EuriBor floating rate to fixed SWAP rate at the same time as the NIS loans will be converted from short to long term. In addition, the consortium has structured an equity bridge facility, a standby facility and a working capital facility. Acknowledging the creativity and effectiveness of this unique financial package, Global Water Intelligence highly commended Sorek for "2011 Water Deal of the Year," in recognition of the transaction that had a positive impact on private sector participation in the international water sector. COnCluSiOn Leveraging the vast experience, desalination technologies and financial engineering capabilities that IDE has developed over the past 40 years, Sorek is opening exciting new horizons in terms of desalination capacity, water cost and environmental responsibility. This brings the world ever closer to a promising new era of plentiful, affordable high quality water to evergrowing populations with ever-decreasing supplies of fresh water. l August-September 2012 | Desalination & Water Reuse | 19 |