Spanish renewable energy Abengoa has won a contract to develop a large-scale desalination plant to be powered by solar energy in Saudi Arabia.
The plant is owned by Advanced Water Technology, a subsidiary of Taqnia. The plant will produce 60,000 cubic meters of water a day to supply Al Khafji City in North Eastern Saudi Arabia, ensuring a constant water supply throughout the year.
The US$130 million plant at Al Khafji City will incorporate a photovoltaic plant that will be capable of supplying the power required by the desalination process, significantly reducing the operational costs. It will also have a system to optimize power consumption and a pre-treatment phase to reduce the high level of salinity and the oils and fats that are present in the region’s seawater.