Work on the water desalination unit at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai, UAE, is progressing as per schedule with 35 per cent of the project already completed, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and chief executive of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

He was speaking after reviewing the progress of desalination water unit.

The plant is powered by a photovoltaic array and uses reverse osmosis technology to produce 50 cu m of drinking water per day. The project supports Dewa's research and development efforts (R&D) to provide high-quality drinking water for the solar park, stated Al Tayer.

He was accompanied by senior Dewa officials including Waleed Salman, the executive vice president of Strategy & Business Development, Hussain Lootah, the executive vice president of Transmission Power, Khawla Al Mehairi, the vice president of Marketing & Corporate Communications, Moza Al Akraf, the chief investment officer, Saeed Al Jallaf, the vice president of Transmission Projects and Permits, Jamal Shaheen Al Hammadi, the vice president of special projects and Khalifa Al Mehairi, the vice president of Distribution Maintenance.

According to him, the project aims to extract saltwater and desalinate it to produce water that is as good as bottled water, by using innovative technology.

The entire electricity used to pump and desalinate water at the station will be produced via a hybrid power source that combines photovoltaic cells at 100 kilowatts (KW) and batteries with a capacity of 520 kW/h per day, he added.-TradeArabia News Service