RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia continues to lead the race for installed desalination capacity with a new report suggesting it now contributes 18% globally.
In 2015 the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) increased its total supply by 15% from the previous year, according to a new report quoted by local source, the Saudi Gazette.
A total of 1.3 billion cubic metres of water is generated annually from desalination in Saudi Arabia, with 55% of plants located on the east coast and remainder on the west coast.
Furthermore, SWCC’s dual purpose plants also generated 3.7 million megawatt/hours of electricity in 2015 – a 25% increase compared to 2014.
The Middle East country has led the list of top 10 countries by installed desalination capacity since the 1940s, which also includes the United Arab Emirates, the US, Spain and Kuwait.
However, Oman has seen substantial activity in recent months with contracts up for grabs as the country increases its desalinated water to 1.3 million m3/day by 2020 (read story).
Efforts are currently underway in Saudi Arabia to develop a 60,000 m3/day solar powered desalination plant in al Khafji City (read WWi story).
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