In a Work Paper Presented in the Inauguration of the Scientific Program for Water Desalination Conference in the Arab Countries
Prince Dr. Turki Bin Saud: Water Desalination Using Solar Energy is a Strategic Choice for the Kingdom
Prince Dr. Turki Saud Mohammad Al Saud, KACST Vice President for Research Institutes emphasized that water desalination in the Kingdom is a dispensable strategic choice to secure potable water taking into consideration that the Kingdom produces more than five million cubic meters per day that represents 18% of the world production of potable water.
The prince indicated, in his opening speech today at the inauguration of the Scientific Program for Water Desalination Conference in the Arab Countries held in King Faisal Convention Center in Riyadh under a kind auspice of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin AbdulAziz, that the National Policy for Science and Technology gives first priority to researches of water and technology in the Kingdom.
Dr. Turki highlighted that KACST in collaboration with IBM Corporation, as the technological partner, works to develop the advanced nanotechnologies in fields of water desalination and solar energy technologies through a joint research team, adding that this cooperation resulted in advanced technologies that reduce the cost of producing solar energy and highly increase the amount of desalinated water due to generating highly concentrated solar cells besides producing nano-membranes for water desalination..
The prince reviewed in his work paper, presented to the conference, details of the National Initiative to desalinate water using the solar energy under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, indicating that the initiative would be executed on three phases within a period of nine years. The first phase targets building a plant for desalinating water with a production capacity of 30000 cubic meter per day to meet the needs of Khafji city for drinking water through constructing a plant for producing the solar energy by the power of 10 megawatt and membranes of Reverse Osmosis. The Prince pointed that carrying out this phase would cover three years and that actual steps for executing this phase have already started shortly.
Dr. Turki added that the second phase targets constructing a desalination plant with a production capacity of 300000 cubic meter per day and the execution of this phase would take another three years while the third phase targets constructing a number of water desalination plants operated by the solar energy for all parts of the kingdom.
KACST Vice President for Research Institutes stressed that KACST worked on this national project in cooperation and collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Water and Electricity, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Saline Water Conversion Corporation and Electricity & Co-generation Regulatory Authority.
Dr. Turki numerated the objectives of the initiative that can be crystallized in cost-effective water- desalinating using solar energy to foster water-security and boost the national economy, the practical application of the advanced Nano-technology in fields of generating solar energy and water desalination, constructing specialized national capabilities and cadres in fields of generating solar energy and water desalination in addition to developing environment-friendly technological solutions.
The Prince underlined that technologies used in this initiative that are water desalination using advanced Reverse Osmosis membranes using solar energy would reduce the current cost of water cubic meter to the quarter.
KACST Vice President for Research Institutes revealed that projects of the National Initiative for Desalinating Water would be executed through a national industrial consortium that would market the products on the world level adding that this, by its turn, would serve and boost the national strategic orientations of industry as KACST would own production rights that would be licensed to the others and would be marketed abroad as well.