U.S.A. – In its efforts to bolster availability during droughts, the Marin Municipal Water District recently began examining a list of new water supply options, including building a brackish desalination plant on the Petaluma River. The proposed brackish desalination plant is only in its conceptual phase but is estimated to produce 16,896 m3/day and to be less costly and require less energy compared to a desalination plant on San Francisco Bay. (Marin Independent Journal)
SAUDI ARABIA – Saudi Arabia is taking measures to ensure a smooth transition to green energy and fight climate change. Last March a consortium of Acciona and Saudi companies Tawzea, Tamasuk secured green loans worth $480 million for the construction of three independent sewage treatment plants (ISTPs) – Madinah 3, Buraidah 2 and Tabuk 2.
Once completed, Madinah 3 will have a treatment capacity of 200,000 m3/day, which can be expanded to 375,000 m3/day. Buraidah 2 will have a capacity of 150,000 m3/day and will serve up to 600,000 people. Tabuk 2 will produce 90,000 m3/day and serve up to 350,000 people. The treated water will replace freshwater resources for farming. Daily water savings are expected to amount to 190,000 m3/day at Madinah 3, 142,500 at Buraidah 2 and 85,500 at Tabuk 2.
The plants will all have a zero-sludge-dispatch policy, which means that all the sludge produced by the wastewater treatment plans will either be used by farmers to replace other fertilizers or sent to cement factories. Additionally, photovoltaic solar panels installed at each plant will generate renewable power that will support some of the plant’s daily energy consumption. (Arab News)
SCIENCE – A research team in the U.K. has proposed the use of photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) energy for desalination purposes, via a method based on synergistic electro-thermal coupling mechanisms. The team looked at how the combination of photovoltaics and solar thermal (ST) energy could improve the efficiency and viability of different solar desalination processes.
The scientists made a distinction between desalination technologies that are preferable for use with electricity, such as reverse osmosis (RO), electrodialysis (ED), mechanical vapor compression (MVC) and capacitive deionization (CDI); and technologies that rely on heat, such as multiple stage flash (MFS) and multiple-effect distillation (MED), and membrane distillation (MD) technologies.
Through their analysis, the researchers found that RO desalination can reduce its levelized cost of desalinated water (RLCOW) by 20% if powered by photovoltaic-thermal systems compared to pure photovoltaic (PV) installations. (PVmagazine)
Sungrow headquarters in Hefei, Anhui, China. Credit: Sungrow
SAUDI ARABIA – Sungrow and ACWA Power recently held a meeting to strengthen relations and to discuss innovative technologies such as green hydrogen production, clean energy cooperation and water desalination using renewable energy. During the meeting, the companies stated they have common goals in contributing to the energy transition and carbon neutrality. The two parties maintain a long-term and robust strategic partnership and aim to strengthen cooperation in fields including PV, energy storage, and green hydrogen, in order to contribute to a more sustainable and cleaner future.