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DesalData Weekly - March 3, 2023

Posted 03 March, 2023 by Mandy

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The Rabigh desalination plant. Credit: Abengoa

SAUDI ARABIASaudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) announced the consortium of ACWA POWER, Haji Abdullah Alireza & Co. (HAACO) and AlMoayyed Contracting Group (AMCG) as the preferred bidder for the Rabigh 4 Independent Water Plant (IWP) project.

The project will be located in Rabigh on the Red Sea coast and involves the construction and operation of a 600,000 m3/day reverse osmosis desalination plant as well as storage tanks with a total capacity of 1,200,00 m3. SWPC revealed that the preferred bidder submitted a water cost tariff of $0.46/m3, while the reserve bidder, a consortium of Acciona Agua and Ajlan & Bros, submitted a tariff of $0.54/m3. The plant is expected to commence operations in the fourth quarter of 2025. (Zawya.com)

    

INDIAThe Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is considering to build a 100,000 m3/d desalination plant in Appikonda in Visakhapatnam. GVMC representatives recently met with Andhra Pradesh Urban Infrastructure and Asset Management Limited (APUIAML) and IDE Water Technologies Ltd. to discuss the project details and feasibility.

The project will likely be developed under a public-private partnership model and is estimated to cost $122 million. The desalination plant will be powered by a solar powered grid and a 20 MW solar energy plant will be developed for the project. The desalinated water produced by the plant is intended towards industrial purposes, at least in the first phase. (The Times of India)

 

NORWAYNorwegian company Ocean Oasis has raised capital from existing and new investors to further develop its wave energy-driven desalination technology.  The funds raised will contribute to the company’s effort to test and scale offshore technology with the aim to supply fresh water competitively to coastal communities and businesses worldwide. According to Ocean Oasis, the new funding round is led by Nordics-focused Unconventional Ventures and is joined by Unruly Capital as well as existing investors, including Grieg Edge, Farvatn Venture and Antler. Ocean Oasis has already received funding from the European Union EIC Accelerator, with a $2.65 million grant awarded in 2022. (Offshore Energy)

 

Unveiling of Ocean Oasis’ Gaia prototype in the presence of investors and government officials (Courtesy of Ocean Oasis)

Ocean Oasis’ unveiling its Gaia prototype in the presence of investors and government officials. Credit: Ocean Oasis

 

SCIENCEA recent study published in Nature suggests a key role for renewable electricity powered desalination to mitigate climate change through afforestation of arid land. Afforestation is one of the predominant carbon dioxide removal methods but its application is limited by the availability of suitable land and sufficient water resources. In this study, the global CO2 sequestration potential of renewable electricity powered desalination plants were used to model forests irrigation on arid land over the period of 2030-2100. The results indicate a global average cost of $485 per ton CO2 sequestration in 2030 but reducing to $106 per ton CO2 in 2100, driven by the decreasing cost of renewable electricity and increasing CO2 sequestration rates of the forests. Regions closer to the coast experience the least costs, with costs only $50 per ton CO2 thanks to afforestation projects irrigated with renewable electricity powered desalination. (Nature)

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