Utility Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded an advisory services contract to develop a seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant at the Jebel Ali Power Station (JAPS).
The AED16.3 million ($4.4m) contract to develop the 182,000 m3/day project has been awarded to an “international company” but DEWA did not stipulate any further details.
Set to be operational by April 2020, the plant is expected to help the Emirate state meet its Dubai Plan 2021 objectives.
Dubai’s water production capacity is 2.1 million m3/day with the majority of the plants using thermal, multi-stage flash (MSF) technology.
Only 6% use reverse osmosis, according to DEWA.
HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, said: “In adherence with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, DEWA is working to retrofit existing plants with photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. This will reduce carbon emissions in the future.
“The plants use multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) technology, and need to be connected to a central solar plant, so this includes the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park. In adherence with its strategy, DEWA has chosen to use reverse osmosis technology, as they use about 90% less power than MSF technology,” added Al Tayer.
Source: WaterWorld
