The 56th Annual New Mexico Water Conference saw participants anticipating a key role that renewable energy development will play in improving and expanding desalination techniques. The conference, coordinated by the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute at New Mexico State University and the Bureau of Reclamation, brought desalination experts from around the world together to discuss ways to advance desalination projects.
Experts representing Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia presented some of their projects and demonstrated why Europe and Asia are currently considered the global leaders in this technology. Dr. Bekele Debele of the Middle East and North Africa Region Worldbank said desalination is being looked at as an emerging solution to the region’s growing water gap. "Between 1950 and 2000 per-capita renewable water resources declined by more than 75%," Debele said. Saudi Arabia, world leader in desalination, is looking to convert all of its seawater desalination plants to renewable energy by 2019, he said.
Testing of a solar powered desalination project will begin in January at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility in Alamogordo. Louisiana-based Suns River Inc. is conducting the testing.
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