How the Kingdom is looking to save water
Experts describe new ways to minimize Saudis’ carbon footprint, including building micro-grids and sewage-treatment plants related to renewable energy
With Saudi Arabia ranking among the top five countries in the world in terms of water scarcity, the Kingdom is changing the way it produces, uses and distributes water to ensure sustainable growth.
One of its key initiatives is the Red Sea Project, a luxury tourism destination with islands, nature and culture, which aims to set a new standard of sustainable development by optimizing its power, potable and sewage water, as well as solid waste.
Spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the project is set to welcome around 1 million visitors by 2030. “We have islands, coastal areas, desert, and more than 100 mountains with over 50 volcanoes located 550 km north of Jeddah,” Martin Stahl, infrastructure director at the Red Sea Development Co., said on Monday at the Water Forum, part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
“At 28,000 sq. km, it’s nearly the size of Belgium, with 90 unspoiled islands, 200 km of coastline, and nearly 50 hotels to be built.”
The company plans to operate the largest battery plant in the world, producing 250 megawatts of diversified power, fully renewable, including wind and solar energy, and 56,000 cubic meters of water per day. “We’re trying to optimize water demand,” Stahl said. “We’ll have two plants, a photovoltaic one south of the development, one in the north, and a pilot plant for brine treatment, a wind energy plant, as well as our own nursery in agriculture and contracted wetland.”
The objective is a net positive environmental impact, maximal climate resilience, carbon neutrality, zero discharge, zero waste to landfill and zero single-use plastic. “Our sustainability goals are very challenging,”
Stahl said.
“We launched an international university competition, supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, that challenges young scientists and engineers to come up with new solutions in 12 months to reduce the environmental impact and create value from brine, to actively promote sustainable responsibility toward the Kingdom’s natural resources. The winner will be awarded $10,000.” The project uses a micro-grid, which entails smaller grids of water while keeping with environmental goals.
The practice is becoming more common in the region, especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where hundreds of kilometers of pipes bring water to various areas.
“Because water is such a scarce resource and so vital in the area, water utility companies tend to cover large areas,” said Emmanuel Gayan, CEO and managing director of UAE-based water-treatment company Osmoflo.
“But today there’s a tendency to do things locally, and a new school of thought says maybe we should do things smaller because it brings more efficiency and fewer losses.”
Regional developers and industries are increasingly looking at producing and treating water locally through micro-grids of water.
Dr. Najib Dandachi, CEO of UAE-based consultancy Al-Usul, said: “Water, traditionally and historically, is unlike electricity and oil and gas. It’s a resource locally produced and distributed. Micro-grids existed in some shape or form because of the need for greater access to water and for water quality.” With a change in technology for water production