Desalination plants 'could reduce business water costs'

13/04/2010

Business water costs could be reduced by desalination plants being introduced to combat the limited amount of available fresh water.

Desalination plants are being used increasingly around the world to convert sea water into safe, drinkable fresh water.

As part of a collaboration between IBM and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia, a new desalination plant has been announced.

It will serve 100,000 people, producing 30,000 cubic metres of freshwater per day for them.

The plant is extremely energy efficient too, as it uses ultra-high concentrator photovoltaic technology to convert energy from the sun into power for the facility.

A spokesperson for IBM said: "Factors such as exploding population, massive urbanisation and climate change are stressing our already limited supply of fresh water."

Areas that are abundant in sea water and lack fresh water could benefit from desalination, which could be cost-effective if new technologies are implemented to use it, she added.

Last year, there was a 9.5 million cubic metre increase in the amount of fresh water produced worldwide.

If any desalination plants were introduced to the UK, they could impact upon business water costs, reducing them due to the cheapness of the fresh water supply when compared with the scarcity of fresh water.

Posted by Dan Morris