Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded an international company with an advisory services contract to develop a new plant to desalinate seawater using reverse osmosis at the Jebel Ali Power Station (JAPS). This is a key factor to achieve the Dubai Plan 2021. DEWA adopts an integrated strategy to enhance Dubai’s position as an international role model in electricity efficiency and water grids, to meet current and future development needs in the Emirate. DEWA is working to fulfil its development objectives, to enhance the operational efficiency of its water networks, to meet the ever-increasing demand for water, and contribute to sustainable development in Dubai.

“The advisory services contract is worth AED16.3 million, with the desalination to have a total capacity of 40 million gallons per day, to be operational by April 2020,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

“In adherence with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, DEWA is working to retrofit existing plants with photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. This will reduce carbon emissions in the future. The plants use multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) technology, and need to be connected to a central solar plant, so this includes the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park. In adherence with its strategy, DEWA has chosen to use reverse osmosis technology, as they use about 90% less power than MSF technology,” added Al Tayer.

“In Dubai our production capacity is 470 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD), 25 MIGD is produced using reverse osmosis (RO) technology. In Dubai, most of the plants use MSF technology, and only 6% use RO. MSF desalination is powered by the waste heat and is therefore fuel-free. This means that its carbon footprint is zero,” concluded Al Tayer.