RIYADH: In a bid to further boost its desalination capacity, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has inked a 30-year water purchase agreement with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power for developing the first phase of the seawater reverse osmosis plant at Hassyan.
The completion of this initial phase is expected to boost DEWA’s water desalination capacity to 670 million imperial gallons per day by 2027, up from the current 490 MIGD, as stated in a press release.
In August, DEWA announced ACWA Power as the preferred bidder for the first phase of the project, with a 3.35 billion dirham ($914 million) investment.
Considered the world’s largest project of its kind, the Hassyan IWP is DEWA’s first endeavor under the independent water producer model, spanning an area of 252,300 sq. meters. It is part of DEWA's initiative to raise its water desalination capacity to 730 MIGD by 2030.
Mohammad Abunayyan, founder and chairman of ACWA Power, said: “The Hassyan IWP will be the largest plant of its kind in the world, and we have set a new record for the lowest levelized water tariff. The plant will be highly efficient, desalinating water through reverse osmosis powered by solar energy.”
He added: “With this project, we are reaffirming our commitment with our partners toward achieving the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050.”
Saeed Mohammed Al-Tayer, managing director and CEO of DEWA, said that this agreement with ACWA Power will help carry out desalination in Dubai in a sustainable manner, thus contributing to Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050.
“We are building water production plants based on seawater reverse osmosis technology, which require less energy than multi-stage flash distillation plants, making it a more sustainable choice for water desalination. By 2030, DEWA aims to produce 100 percent of desalinated water by a mix of clean energy and waste heat,” added Al-Tayer.
In August, DEWA selected state-owned renewable energy firm Masdar to construct and manage the 1,800-megawatt sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, as part of its clean energy promotion efforts.
With an estimated cost of up to 5.51 billion dirhams, the solar park will be developed under the independent power producer model.
A report released in August by UK-based Global Water Intelligence revealed that ACWA Power is the world’s largest water developer outside of China.
ACWA Power leads the list of top global water developers with 6.8 million cubic meters per day of gross capacity and 3.2 million cubic meters per day of net capacity.
