U.S.A. –  Later this month, the U.S. Department of Energy will publicize a new funding opportunity through its SunShot Initiative.  The funding will support the research, development, and demonstration of early-stage solar desalination technologies with the primary objective of promoting cost-efficient schemes.^[1]  

Established in 2011, the Sunshot Initiative aims to make possible low-cost solar energy for all Americans by 2020 through collaborative research and development efforts in the public and private sectors.  In line with this goal target costs for solar energy have been set at $0.10 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for residential photovoltaics (PV), $0.08 per kWh for commercial PV, and $0.06 per kWh for utility-scale PV projects.  Last spring SunShot published a series of papers revealing that the solar industry has “achieved rapid progress” toward its 2020 goals, and this summer announced that it had met its utility-scale PV goal three years earlier than expected.^[2]

Elsewhere, federal officials in New Mexico will this week celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the country’s only major research center dedicated solely to desalination of brackish and impaired groundwater.^[3]   Experts from NASA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the University of New Mexico are set to attend the event. One of the center’s first projects was a water purifier for a hospital in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which was developed by a team of experts from the Bureau of Reclamation and the military.^[4]

PAPUA NEW GUINEA –  Residents of Bipi Island in the Manus Province will soon receive their first supply of desalinated well-water.^[5]   The supply project, which was funded by the Pacific Environment Community (PEC) Fund, was procured at a cost of $4 million-dollars.  The PEC Fund is an initiative that promotes “the development and implementation of practical pacific-tailored approaches to combating the impacts of climate change.”^[6] 

^{Credit: Desalination.biz}

Further to this, the Government of Japan has contributed $66 million-dollars toward the PEC Fund to help Pacific Islanders tackle environmental issues, with a focus on solar-powered generation systems and seawater desalination plants.^[7]  Japanese officials manage and administer the fund with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat through an established governance structure consisting of a joint committee, a project management unit, and a technical advisory group.^[8] In accordance with PEC Fund guidelines, each of the fourteen members of the Pacific Island Forum will receive an allocation of $4 million in support of these projects.

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS – Hurricane Irma has cut the power supply to Consolidated Water's desalination plants on the islands of Tortola and Jost Van Dyke.^[9]   The company’s president and chief executive, Rich McTaggart, reported that the physical structure of the plants appear to be intact—but without electrical power, it is not possible to determine the functionality of the facilities.^[10]