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For the second year, the International Desalination Association (IDA) is supporting theInternational Water Summit (IWS) as a Knowledge Partner for the event. The world’s leading association focused on desalination and water reuse, IDA has organized several sessions that will be presented at the Summit – a unique platform for promoting global collaboration on water sustainability to be held January 20-22 at ADNEC.
With IDA’s support, the 2nd International Water Summit aims to open new opportunities for global leaders, scientists, innovators and environmental experts to work together to make recommendations and improvements within the desalination industry. Hosted by Masdar and in strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), the IWS is a leading global consortium raising awareness and solving problems linked to water sustainability in arid regions. It is one of the centerpieces of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
Desalination Sessions
Held on January 21-22, the desalination sessions organized by IDA will provide insights on enhancement of energy efficiency in the desalination process including discussions on low energy desalination technologies and their strategic selection with special focus on the GCC region and the evaluation system.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Alshaikh, IDA President and Deputy Governor for Planning and Development of Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), noted that “In the last 20 years, the evolution of desalination technologies has significantly reduced energy consumption and the cost of water. Technological innovation – from growth in new technologies to development of renewable sources of energy to power desalination – is the key factor in optimizing water and energy costs worldwide. Increasing energy efficiency remains a goal for the industry as we chart the course to sustainable desalination.”
Dr. Al-Alshaikh will expand on this topic during his Keynote Remarks on “Sustainability: The Driver of Innovation” on Day Two (January 21) of the Summit.
“Some countries in the Gulf rely on desalination to produce 90% or more of their drinking water, and overall this region represents nearly half of the world’s desalinated water capacity,” said Leon Awerbuch. A Director of IDA and President of Leading Edge Technologies, Mr. Awerbuch organized IDA’s involvement in the IWS program. In addition, he will deliver a Keynote Address on evaluating different desalination technologies and will lead the panel discussion on strategic technology selection.
Miguel Angel Sanz, 2nd Vice President of IDA and Director of Development and Innovation at Degrémont, will speak on the subject of energy conservation through reverse osmosis desalination. His speech will highlight the importance of considering both water and energy in tandem rather than in isolation – a key platform of IWS and the primary reason for its co-location with the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) for the past two years.
Dr. CorradoSommariva, immediate Past President of IDA and Managing Director of ILF Consulting Engineers, will speak on renewable energy desalination at the Summit. He is a technical adviser for the new desalination plant being constructed in Fujairah. The plant is a benchmark of new energy efficiency standards as it will produce 3.7 kilowatt hours per cubic meter as compared to the industry standard of 4-6 kilowatt hours per cubic meter.
Desalination and the GCC
According to IDA, the GCC region is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water. Saudi Arabia is the largest country producer, producing 9.2 million cubic meters per day. The UAE is the second largest producer with a daily production rate of 8.4 million cubic meters.
Global Water Intelligence (GWI)/DesalData estimates that the total value of desalination contracts awarded in the GCC in 2013 was approximately $2.7 billion, relating to 1.9 million m3/d of additional capacity. Over the next five years a further $11.7 billion is expected to be spent on desalination plants in the region, adding a total of 8.4million m3/d of new capacity.
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