U.S.A. – IDE Technologies Ltd is planning to build a $5.5 billion desalination plant in Sonora, Mexico, to supply drinking water to the state of Arizona, U.S.A. Last December IDE Technologies proposed the plan to the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) of Arizona and the company has been waiting for purchasing commitment from the state’s authorities before it can officially move forward with the project.
The plant will be located in the city of Puerto Peñasco and will draw water from the Sea of Cortez and will be connected to a water distribution facility and reservoir in Arizona through a 328km-long system of pumps and pipes. The plant is expected to be operational by 2027 and will provide up to 7.5 million m3 water a day to Arizona. In its submission to WFA, IDE stated the project would also supply water to Sonora, Mexico. (Nocamels)
INDIA – The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to build a 200,000 m3/d desalination plant in Manori Village. The project is estimated to cost $195.8 million and is projected to be operational in the next four years. If needed, the plant’s capacity can be expanded to 400,000 m3/d in the future. Work on a tender is currently underway and an invitation for bids is expected in the next two to three weeks. (Free Press Journal).
PORTUGAL – Portugal’s Minister for the Environment recently revealed that the planned desalination project in the Algarve will have a production capacity of 2,400 m3/d. According to the minister the Algarve is currently “one of the most worrying areas of the country” in terms of water availability. The desalination project is part of the government’s Recovery and Resilience Program (PRR), dedicated to water efficiency in the Algarve. Originally the plant cost $42.6 million and had a capacity of 800 m3/d, but Aguas de Portugal and Aguas do Algarve decided to increase its capacity to 2,400 m3/d. The project is now estimated to cost $53.2 million. In the coming few weeks the Environmental Impact Study will be delivered exploring two possible locations, Albufeira and Lagos. (Portugal Resident)
IRAN – Iran recently launched a major project to transfer desalinated water from the Persian Gulf to three provinces in its arid central regions. The project includes a 730-km pipeline for transferring up to 547,945 m3/d from the desalination plants in Sirik, located on the eastern most mouth of the Persian Gulf, to the provinces of Yazd, Isfahan and Kerman. The project will take 48 months to complete. (PRESSTV)
Boreal Light’s PV-powered off-grid desalination machine, the Winture Planet Cube. Credit: Boreal Light
GERMANY – Boreal Light, has developed a PV-powered water desalination machine, the Winture Planet Cube, for off-grid applications. The machines have production capacities ranging from 24 m3/d to 1,200 m3/d and use 460 W solar panels from Chinese module manufacturer DAH Solar. The units employ a low-pressure reverse osmosis membrane with a lifetime of three to five years and are built to last 25 years according to Boreal Light.
The Winture Planet Cube’s production cost of water from direct seawater is $0.53 per m3 and $0.30 per m3 for brackish water. Depending on the capacity, the desalination machines cost ranges from $21,300 to $1.07 million. The units are connected to the internet via SIM card, allowing Boreal Light to perform remote monitoring and control the machines from Berlin. Boreal Light currently has projects in 14 countries across Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. (PV Magazine)