Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/640467
REGIONS | 32 | Desalination & Water Reuse | February-March 2016 Egypt opts to grow desalination plant Egypt's cabinet economic committee, under prime minister Sherif Ismail, has agreed to provide the funds required to complete expansion in works and production capacity at a seawater desalination plant in Hurghada. Up to EGP 265 million (US$ 33.8 million) will be provided for the project in two tranches. This year EGP 100 million (US$ 12.8 million) will be released with EGP 165 million (US$ 21 million) offered to complete of the project. The cabinet committee identified the general authority for investment to be entrusted with setting up companies and establishments. The committee called on the ministry of investment to enable the one-stop-window in all governorates to attract more investment and speed up the development process nationwide. Experts urge Gulf investment to improve energy efficiency in desalination Two prominent water experts have urged Gulf Cooperation Council utility providers and businesses to invest in energy efficient desalination to reduce the technology's carbon footprint and high power costs. The messages from the chief executive of Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company Masdar, Dr Ahmad Belhoul, and the chief executive of Saudi-based ACWA Power, Paddy Padmanathan, came ahead of the International Water Summit (IWS) in Abu Dhabi. They warned: "A sustainable water future can only be achieved if potable water is produced without compromising the environment." The comments by Belhoul and Padmanathan were "driven" by the launch by Masdar of the Global Clean Water Alliance at the Paris environmental summit in December. The alliance is an international coalition of more than 80 members seeking to reduce annual global carbon emissions from desalination by up to 270 tonnes before 2040. "Propelled by population growth and urban development, demand for potable water will continue to grow exponentially in the UAE. Recognising the critical link between water and energy, Abu Dhabi, through Masdar, is investing in advancing cutting- edge, technologies to improve the efficiency and to reduce the environmental impact of desalination processes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and ultimately across the globe," said Belhoul. "Water is a precious and crucial resource in ensuring our sustained economic and social growth. Developing innovative technologies that can sustainably source clean water is vital, not only for the UAE, but for the Gulf and many other regions of the world. Masdar and our partners are pursuing on-the-ground, tangible innovations that will lead to commercial solutions that can be rolled out locally, regionally, and globally." In November 2015 Masdar launched the operational stage of a pilot programme in Abu Dhabi, producing potable water to demonstrate commercially viable, renewable-powered desalination operating at a greatly reduced energy demand. Energy consumption for desalination in the UAE and Saudi Arabia is expected to surge according to recent research. In Saudi Arabia, the study found it would grow from about 48,000 GWh in 2006 to 119,000 GWh by 2025. In UAE it was predicted to top 145,000 GWh by 2025 from 65,000 GWh in 2006. The same study concluded that energy efficient technology could cut 17% from the electricity consumed for desalination in Saudi Arabia, and 16% in the UAE by 2025. More than US$ 300 billion is currently being invested in GCC water and desalination projects between 2012 and 2022. Padmanathan said that advances in technology were already bringing on low-energy water production. "Although some of these technologies are still in their infancy, we have seen their potential, and there are extensive research and investments being made in the region towards reaping the benefits of energy efficient water production. It is now up to all stakeholders in the water community to research, develop, and implement these new discoveries," he said. Developments in low-energy and carbon-neutral water production will form the core of the IWS conference programme. Israel to join top ten water stressed by 2040 The US-based World Resources Institute has forecast that Israel will be among the world's ten most water stressed regions by 2040. Almost half of those regions will be in the Middle East according to recent report by the institute. The institute said 14 of the 33 countries and regions likely to be most water stressed by the year 2040 are in the Middle East, with Israel eighth on the list. Growing populations and emerging middle classes were the driving forces behind a "surge" in demand over the coming decade according to the institute. Five Middle Eastern states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Palestinian Authority – as well as San Marino and Singapore were equally ranked first in the index. Saudia Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Iran and Jordan followed close behind Israel. More than half of Israel's water comes from man-made resources, such as desalination and sewage recycling. This, according to Israel's Water Authority, has enabled it to reduce its use of natural fresh water resources. Desalination was expected to account for about 600 million m³ of the country's annual 2.1 billion m³ water supply following the opening later this year of an additional plant at Ashdod. Treated wastewater accounts for a similar amount of the water supply. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel led the world in reclaiming wastewater, with 85% of its sewage treated with most of it reused for watering agricultural fields. The water-stress rankings were based on World Resources Institute researchers' projections for 167 countries in 2020, 2030 and 2040. The institute described the Middle East as "already arguably the least water-secure [region] in the world." and forecast still greater challenges in the coming decades. Israel's Water Authority spokesman, Uri Schor was optimistic about the water tension with Palestine: "in the past, the water shortage has been a pretext for war," he said. "Today, in our region, like throughout the world, the subject of developing new water sources can serve as a bridge for peace." Israel is obliged under the Oslo Accords to provide the Palestine Authority with 31 million m³/y and at the end of 2013 it was supplying 52 million m³/y the authority claimed.