SOMALIA – Boreal Light completed the installation of a solar-powered desalination system in Oog, in the Sool region of Somalia. The unit installed by Boreal Light is the Winture Planet cube, which is equipped with a borehole that pumps groundwater from Oog. The system is capable of producing 36 m3/d water for municipal use and fish farming. The desalination system was financed by Oxfam as part of its partnership with Boreal Light. Oxfam is planning to install four additional drinking water kiosks in the Sool region. (Afrik21)
CHILE – The ENAPAC desalination project in Chile’s Atacama region has received environmental clearance and is in the pretendering phase. The project will be located near Copiapo city and will be powered by a 100MW solar photovoltaic plant and will supply water to industrial customers in the region. The project developers have also applied for an environmental evaluation of an associated $350 million water distribution project. ENAPAC is a joint venture between Trends, through its subsidiary Trends Industrial, and Almar Water Solutions. (BNamericas)
Computer generated model of the ENAPAC desalination plant in Chile’s Atacama region. Credit: ENAPAC
IRAN – The president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, has inaugurated the first phase of a major desalination and water transfer project, aimed at supplying water from the Persian Gulf to central Iran. The project will pump desalinated water from the Gulf to Hormozgan and Kerman provinces and is estimated to cost $3.88 billion. It is being implemented by the Energy Ministry in partnership with the Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry. With the realization of the project, Iran’s total desalination capacity will be raised by 50 percent. The first phase of the project consists of the construction of a 200,000 m3/d plant that will supply water to Kerman and Bandar Abbas for municipal and industrial purposes. (TehranTimes)