IRAN – The Department of Environment (DOE) announced it is preparing a plan to install desalination plants on the shores of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. The deputy chief of the marine environment of the DOE, Ahmad Reza Lahijanzadeh, revealed that suitable areas that cause the least damage to the environment have been identified in Hormozgan province. He stated that the project, a collaboration with the Ministry of Energy, will supply water to 17 drought-ridden provinces. (Tehran Times)
U.S.A. – GivePower, a non-profit organization that provides solar energy and clean water, has installed two of its Solar Water Farms in Mombasa, Kenya and La Gonave, Haiti. GivePower’s desalination systems, entirely powered by solar energy and battery storage, are housed in 20 foot shipping containers and can desalinate brackish and/or seawater at a rate of 700 m3/d. GivePower collaborated with World Hope International in Haiti who supported the project with a $250,000 donation. The Haiti facility launched operations in late May and Kenya’s Likoni facility started running end of July. (PR Newswire)
Aerial view of a GivePower Solar Farm. Credit: GivePower
AUSTRALIA – A desalination plant at Lakes Beach, Budgewoi, is no longer under consideration by the Central Coast Council, according to council director Jamie Loader. The director was unclear about alternative sites. He noted that while the desalination facility was to be located adjacent to the Norah Head sewerage treatment plant, no money had been allocated for construction of the desalination plant in the $7 million budget for upgrading the sewerage plant. (Coast Community News)
U.S.A. – Cape May City is considering to expand the capacity of its desalination plant. Saltwater intrusion continues to affect private wells and some deep aquifers, causing the coastal community to consider alternatives to ensure drinking water supplies are sustainable in the long term. Carl Behrens, superintendent of the City of Cape May Water and Sewer Department, is urging the city to increase the capacity of its desalination plant by at least 50 percent to 11,356 m3/d. But the proposed capacity increase is on hold while the Cape May City Council considers its budget, which has been burdened by the coronavirus pandemic. The existing plant started operating in 1998 and cost $5 million. (WHYY)