EWEC (Emirates Water and Electricity Company), a leading company in the integrated coordination of planning, purchasing and supply of water and electricity across the UAE, has announced that the production of desalinated water using low carbon-intensive reverse osmosis (RO) technology from the Taweelah RO facility has reached 50 percent capacity. Taweelah RO, connected to the Abu Dhabi network in December 2021, is now providing 100 million gallons per day of desalinated water, and will eventually reach 200 million gallons per day, making it the world’s largest RO facility.
Othman Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC, said: “Water production from low carbon-intensive technologies is a key strategic pillar for the long-term decarbonisation of the energy sector. EWEC began planning for the world’s largest RO desalination plant in 2018 and reaching the important milestone of 50 percent production capacity at Taweelah RO is a proud moment not only for EWEC, but for Abu Dhabi and the UAE.
Low carbon-intensive water desalination will ensure we continue to meet the water demands of Abu Dhabi and beyond, whilst at the same time significantly reduce CO2 emissions. As we lead the decoupling of water and power production, EWEC is continuing to invest heavily in the development of RO projects and by 2030 expect over 90 percent of our water production to be via RO, resulting in the total carbon emissions associated with water production falling from 14.6 million tons in 2020 to 2.1 million tons by 2030. We look forward to Taweelah RO reaching full production capacity soon, and for our other reverse osmosis projects to begin water production over the coming years.”
Taweelah RO is the fourth operational desalination plant with RO capacity
Taweelah RO is the fourth operational desalination plant with RO capacity, adding to Fujairah F1 Power and Water Plant, Fujairah F2 Combined Cycle Power Plant, and Mirfa M1. Taken together, all four plants are currently producing 227 million gallons of water per day through RO, which will rise to 327 million gallons once Taweelah RO reaches full operating capacity. At that point, water produced using low carbon-intensive RO technology will make up almost one third of total water production in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Taweelah RO is just one of several low carbon-intensive water production facilities that EWEC is developing. In December 2021, EWEC issued a Request for Qualifications for the development of the Shuweihat S4 RO plant, and in November 2021 issued a Request for Proposals for the development of the Mirfa 2 (M2) RO plant.
As well as improving security of water supply in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, all three new plants will play a key role in increasing system efficiency and maximising resilience, reducing the carbon intensity of the system and supporting ongoing cost reduction initiatives in the sector. This is in line with EWEC’s wider strategic initiative of decoupling Abu Dhabi’s power and water generation capacity.
