Abengoa, an international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the infrastructure, energy and water sectors, in consortium with the engineering and construction company SEPCOIII, has successfully started producing water at the phase two of the Taweelah desalination plant for the leading company in the development, investment, ownership and operation of power generation and desalinated water production plants, ACWA Power, TAQA & Mubadala.
This milestone, which is known as the first permeate, is part of the operational tests included in the plant’s commissioning phase. The project is located at the Taweelah power and water generation complex, 45 km north of Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
Coinciding with the completion of this important milestone in the development of a desalination plant, the project team was privileged to receive a visit from a representation of the UAE Department of Energy, headed by H.E. Eng. Aweidah Murshid Al Murar, Chairman of the institution, and H.E. Eng. Ahmed Al Rumaithi, Undersecretary.
Once the commissioning of phase two of the Taweelah desalination plant is completed, the next step will be the start of commercial operation of phase two, scheduled for December 2022. Work is progressing on schedule, thanks to the effort, dedication and professionalism of the project team, which has faced significant challenges during the execution period.
The plant will desalinate 909,218 m3/day (phase one + phase two) once completed. Thus, Taweelah desalination plant will guarantee supply to the city of Abu Dhabi (approximately four and a half million people) for an entire year and will be the first large-scale desalination plant in the emirate to combine the production of drinking water with the generation of clean energy, thanks to the installation of a photovoltaic solar field with a capacity of more than 70 MWp. In this way, once in commercial operation, the desalination plant’s energy demand will be reduced in a sustainable manner. In addition, this project, located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, is part of the plan developed by the government of the United Arab Emirates to encourage private participation in the development of the country’s infrastructures.
Abengoa’s scope of work at the Taweelah plant has included the design, engineering, supply of the main equipment, supervision of assembly, commissioning, start-up of the reverse osmosis and post-treatment systems and advice on the pre-treatment processes carried out by third parties. All in all, the Taweelah desalination plant meets each one of the drinking water parameters required by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including hardness, alkalinity, LSI (Langelier Saturation Index), SDI (Siltz density Index), pH and Boron content.
Abengoa once again demonstrates its capacity to develop complex projects from the technical point of view, and to adapt to adverse working conditions in very diverse countries, providing an optimum response to the client’s requirements. It also consolidated its position as a leading company in the desalination sector worldwide, and strengthened its presence in the Middle East, where it has a very extensive portfolio: in Saudi Arabia, the Jubail 3A desalination plant (600,000 m3/day), currently under construction, and the Jubail 3A desalination plant (600,000 m3/day), currently under construction, and Rabigh III (600,000 m3/day) and Shuaibah III (250,000 m3/day), both already completed; Dubal (47,750 m3/day), in the United Arab Emirates, in operation; and Salalah (114,000 m3/day), in Oman, also completed.
