Saudi Solar Powered Desalination Plant

A spanish company has just been awarded a contract to build the world s largest solar powered desalination plant in the kingdom of saudi arabia.

Saudi solar powered desalination plant. But a 2015 attempt by swcc to commission a 15 megawatt solar pv powered desalination plant at al khafji in saudi arabia is behind schedule. The desalination plant will be powered by polycrystalline photovoltaic arrays designed by kacst. The plant in jubail was the world s largest desalination plant when it was built in 2009. Citing the recently announced metito plant in saudi arabia reportedly powered by solar pv he noted that when night falls the plant will switch to grid power.

Along with the electrical monitoring and control technology siemens also supplied the transformers for the power supply system. It will be located to the north eastern part of saudi arabia near the kuwait border. This led to an unsustainable management of this vital resource and pushed the country towards desalination. Abengoa will build the 15mw solar pv facility with tracking and expects it to provide all the desalination plant s energy needs during peak output which in saudi arabia will be for much of the daylight hours.

The plant to supply al khafji city in the north east of the country will produce 60 000 cubic metres of water a day. Saudi solar powered desalination plant will be world s largest. The solar powered plant has been designed to reduce power consumption and a has pre treatment phase that will reduce the high level of salinity and the oil and fats that are present in the region s sea water. When it does come on line the solar power and desalination components will likely operate separately insiders say.

Alarcón padilla contends that the only truly 100 solar desalination is with csp due to its ability to supply firm energy for long durations with thermal energy storage tes. Saudi arabia is burdened by a limited access to renewable and non renewable sources of water. High energy consumption which in turns drives further greenhouse gas emissions and harmful discharge of hyper saline brine. The plant in saudi arabia is controlled according to the solar energy available in order that the highest possible proportion of renewable energy is used for water desalination.

Image courtesy of advanced water technology. To be built in al khafji city the al khafji desalination plant will be one of the world s first large scale solar powered desalination plants.