Desalination plants utilizing solar / wind power

Desalination plants utilizing solar / wind power


Q & A Inputs for the ABC Program chaired by Tony Jones

Preamble
We are now experiencing a global economic downturn and serious environmental concerns about the future of the planet. The obvious solution to both problems is to invest in the construction of minimal cost Green Projects that yield everlasting benefits.

The question
In that context why do we spend money toward cleaning coal (a pie in the sky project) and insulating homes when we could be spending money constructing Green Desalination Plants that utilize wind and / or solar energy?

Background information
The Kwinana desalination plant located just south of Perth yields 140,000m3 of drinking water per day and is powered by 48 wind turbines located in the Emu Downs Wind farm. The attractive features of this Green Desalination Plant are:
(i) The technology is available NOW.
(ii) The energy is renewable
(iii) The construction of several Green Desalination Plants would employ thousands of construction workers / engineers / scientists.
(iv) The water can be utilized for irrigating large areas of land also, thus producing more crops.
(v) The benefits are everlasting and very visible – Such projects can easily be the Snowy Mountain Schemes of the 21st century
(vi) Additional benefits are the generation of electricity. The Emu Downs Wind Farms for instance generates 270 GWh/year but the Kwinana Green Desalination Plant uses only 180 GWh/year.

A proposal for the construction of the Point Paterson Green Desalination Plant utilizing solar energy near Port Augusta, in South Australia is in the planning stage but capital for its construction (estimated about 450million$ ) is not forthcoming. The plant is to produce 5.5 gigalitres of water per year.

Australia, the sunburn country, has cheap coal and abundant sunshine. Wind power is also available for harnessing in many parts of the country. Cleaning coal is not a technology we possess now while the technologies for harnessing solar / wind power are available now.