Abu Dhabi’s water sector 'vital for energy transformation'
ABU DHABI, July 22, 2020
Abu Dhabi’s water sector is playing a pivotal role in energy transformation, with desalination technology through nine major plants, thus enhancing the emirate’s security of water supply to ensure business continuity and wellbeing of the community.
Pioneering the transformation of the energy sector in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) is leading the process of developing the water sector through enacting policies and regulations to reform its operations.
Since its establishment in February 2018 to be the new regulator of the energy sector in the Abu Dhabi, DoE has implemented new work mechanisms and adopted performance improvement plans to improve the efficiency of the sector, with the application of modern technology in desalination plants one particular priority.
The department’s initiatives to revitalise the water sector reflect its commitment to ensuring the security of supply and the continued availability of potable water for human consumption in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi is one of the largest places in the world to rely on water desalination, with the percentage of desalinated water in the emirate constituting 9% of total desalinated water worldwide.
The emirate’s major nine desalination plants operate with a total production capacity of 4.13 million cu m (910 million gallons) per day, which is transported via a 3,500 km network and distributed over a pipeline network that extends to 14,200 km. The desalination plants supply water to Abu Dhabi residents, as well the emirate’s vital economic sectors.
The desalination plants are a major contributor to the emirate's water sector, which has a production capacity of around 1.3 billion cu m of water annually (266,456 million gallons).
Mohammed bin Jarsh Al Falasi, Undersecretary of the DoE, stressed that the water sector in Abu Dhabi has a robust and reliable infrastructure that works to supply the emirate with potable water around the clock, with the desalination plants in particular having the capacity to ensure security of supply.
"The DoE works with various entities and licenced companies in Abu Dhabi to implement legislation, regulations and policies, and to adopt development plans based on modern technology in order to develop water plants in accordance with the optimum standards to keep pace with the economic growth witnessed by the emirate at all levels," he added.
Al Falasi said as part of the energy sector’s commitment to ensuring the security of water supplies, the forthcoming period will witness the enhancement of water plants through their refitment with the latest technologies to increase their production capacity and provide more energy efficient forms of desalination.
He highlighted that reverse osmosis is one such pioneering technology that is less energy intensive than other methods and will be expanded extensively throughout Abu Dhabi’s energy sector in the future.
Abu Dhabi’s nine desalination plants are spread across the emirate with the Emirates CMS Power Company (ECPC) being one of the oldest power and water plants operational in Abu Dhabi having been licenced in 1999.
Located in the Taweelah area in Abu Dhabi, it has a production capacity of 231,800 cu m of desalinated water daily.
Al Shuweihat S1 plant was licensed in 2001 and provides 10.7% of the desalination capacity in the emirate, equivalent to some 459,000 cu m of water per day. Its sister facility, the Shuweihat S2 plant, is located in the western region of the emirate.
Licenced in 2009, it provides 11.2% of Abu Dhabi’s total water production, equivalent to 459,000 cu m per day.
Sas Al Nakl Island is home to the Umm Al Nar plant, which was licenced in 2003 and with a production capacity of 432,000 cu m of desalinated water per day.
Taweelah A2 desalination plant located 50 km northeast of Abu Dhabi City was licenced in 2000 and produces about 382,000 cu m of desalinated water per day.
Taweelah B plant licenced in 2005, is the largest independent power and water plant in the UAE and generates nearly double that amount with the production of more than 736,000 cu m of potable water every day. It is located 80 km north of the Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi’s three other desalination plants are Fujairah F1, which was licenced in 2006 with a production capacity of 595,500 cu m per day, the Fujairah F2 plant, which was licenced in 2007 and has a production capacity of 600,000 cu m per day, and the Mirfa International Power and Water Company (Mipco) plant, which was licenced in 2014 and operates with a capacity of 241,000 cu m of water per day.
Abu Dhabi is currently working on establishing the world's largest water desalination plant at the Al Taweelah Power and Water Complex through utilising cost-effective and energy-saving reverse osmosis technology.
Construction work is expected to be completed during 2022 at an estimated total cost of AED3.1 billion. One fully operational, the plant is expected to produce about 200 million imperial gallons – equivalent to 909,200 cu m – of desalinated water per day.-TradeArabia News Service
