ACWA Power, a Saudi developer, investor, and operator of power generation, water desalination and green hydrogen plants worldwide, announced that, in 2022, it added 2.4 million m3 per day (634 million gallons daily) of water desalination capacity across four reverse osmosis megaprojects.
The increase is the largest in a calendar year in the company’s history. The achievement brings the company’s total water capacity under management to 6.4 million cubic meters across 16 projects in four countries.
“During 2022, despite global geopolitical challenges and cost pressures, our teams expanded our water desalination portfolio by over 30 percent,” says Kashif Rana, Chief Portfolio Management Officer of ACWA Power. “We are indeed proud to have added 2.4 million m3 of water capacity/day across 4 mega RO projects with the addition serving 5.5 million people in the GCC daily”
All the projects utilize reverse osmosis technology, which is up to 80 percent more energy efficient than traditional thermal desalination technology. Additionally, these projects produce water at less than US$0.50 per cubic meter, which is up to three-quarters lower than the tariff of US$2 per cubic meter just a few years ago.
ACWA Power is currently producing desalinated water to meet the water needs of 40 million people daily based on average global consumption per household. Presently, it is responsible for fulfilling an estimated 30 percent of Saudi Arabia’s total water needs.
In 2023, the company is expected to add at least three more projects to its desalination portfolio, which will increase its capacity by up to 15 percent.
