Abengoa, the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the infrastructure, energy and water sectors, has started the commissioning, in consortium with the engineering and construction company SEPCOIII, of the 600,000 m3/day Jubail 3A desalination plant for the leading company in the development, investment, ownership and operation of power generation and desalinated water production plants, ACWA Power. The Jubail 3A desalination plant is located south of the city of Jubail, in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, in the northeastern.
The Jubail 3A desalination plant has already started pumping seawater to the pretreatment successfully as part of the tests at the start of commissioning. Once this phase has been passed, as well as all required contractual tests, the Jubail 3A desalination plant will enter commercial operation and produce drinking water for an equivalent population of 3,000,000 inhabitants
Jubail 3A will be the first and largest in the world to run on renewable energy generated by a solar photovoltaic plant. Thus, the plant will produce drinking water in a sustainable and efficient way, being the first experience worldwide on a commercial scale.
As regards Abengoa's scope in the Jubail 3A desalination plant, the company has been responsible, in consortium with SEPCOIII, for the engineering, supply and construction of the plant. The project included seawater collection, pumping, pre-treatment, reverse osmosis system with energy recovery, post-treatment, pumping station, product water storage, effluent treatment, outfall discharge and photovoltaic solar field, as well as the associated electrical installations including the construction of a 380/33 kV electrical substation.
Abengoa, a world leader in desalination
This milestone reaffirms Abengoa's capacity to develop world-class desalination projects. Furthermore, the company continues to add achievements in the water sector in the Middle East, where it has built the Shuaibah III (250,000 m3/day) and Rabigh 3 (600,000 m3/day) desalination plants in Saudi Arabia, and Salalah (114,000 m3/day) in Oman. All of them are now in satisfactory commercial operation.
Abengoa continues to successfully advance in the development of the desalination projects it currently has in its portfolio in Saudi Arabia. It has recently completed the Rabigh 3 plant, recognized by Guinness World Records™ as the world's largest reverse osmosis technology plant built to date.
Worldwide, Abengoa leads the international desalination market with an installed capacity of three million m3/day, which will be increased to four million m3/day when the desalination projects under execution are completed. In short, Abengoa has a portfolio of more than 30 desalination plants in 13 countries.
