Posted on 09/17/2023 3:53:24 AM PDT by FarCenter
The Jazlah plant in Jubail city applies the latest technological advances in a country that first turned to desalination more than a century ago, when Ottoman-era administrators enlisted filtration machines for hajj pilgrims menaced by drought and cholera.
Lacking lakes, rivers and regular rainfall, Saudi Arabia today relies instead on dozens of facilities that transform water from the Gulf and Red Sea into something potable, supplying cities and towns that otherwise would not survive.
But the kingdom's growing desalination needs –- fuelled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's dreams of presiding over a global business and tourism hub –- risk clashing with its sustainability goals, including achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.
Projects like Jazlah, the first plant to integrate desalination with solar power on a large scale, are meant to ease that conflict: officials say the panels will help save around 60,000 tons of carbon emissions annually.
It is the type of innovation that must be scaled up fast, with Prince Mohammed targeting a population of 100 million people by 2040, up from 32.2 million today.
"Typically, the population grows, and then the quality of life of the population grows," necessitating more and more water, said CEO Marco Arcelli of ACWA Power, which runs Jazlah.
Using desalination to keep pace is a "do or die" challenge, said historian Michael Christopher Low at the University of Utah, who has studied the kingdom's struggle with water scarcity.
"This is existential for the Gulf states. So when anyone is sort of critical about what they're doing in terms of ecological consequences, I shake my head a bit," he said.
...
By 2010, Saudi desalination facilities were consuming 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, more than 15 percent of today's production.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
Not wise to tie water production to a part time energy source. Israelis would not be that short sighted.
Wow, that is a heck of a lot of people to add in 17 years. Various sources show SA’s fertility rate down to 2.2 or a touch lower, and it has been declining for a long time. So, they’ll have to allow a ton of immigration, and especially given their society, I’d think that’ll blow ‘em apart, water or no water.
Solar is a lot less part time in a desert.
Just a thought.
CC
Storing desalinated water in tanks is an easy way to store solar energy.
PSTUPID!!!
Saudi doesn’t have many rainy or cloudy days, and desalinated water can be stored, so this makes an ideal application for solar power.
Where are all the screaming envirowackos? At least Algore's useless idiots are smart enough to know that if they go to Saudi Arabia and protest they'll be Friday's entertainment.
It's great stuff when you are low on diesel.
Sand storms are rough on solar. I expect most of the expected population growth to come from foreigners. Business hubs.
Get rid of the “sustainable goals” and the politicians who try to cram them down our throats—and all the people of the planet can live long and prosper.
“Sand storms are rough on solar. I expect most of the expected population growth to come from foreigners. Business hubs.”
My first thought when I saw the slick art concept of the miles long glass walled city was, sand storms. *face palm*
I remember a lot of dust there. Everywhere, every day. How much dust does it take to degrade a solar panel?
Great idea! Tanks a lot!
LOL, Saudi Arabia fell for the Carbon Scam not knowing they live on a Carbon Based Planet
desalination bkmk
—”Storing desalinated water in tanks is an easy way to store solar energy”
Considering time of use and maintenance time; very efficient.
What happened to the old 1970s plan to tow icebergs from the antarctic to Arabia to get the water? Anyone remember the publication that had articles about that in the 1970s?
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