World’s largest Reverse Osmosis plant’s production capacity hits 50pc

• The Taweelah RO facility’s production of desalinated water using low-carbon reverse osmosis (RO) technology has reached 50% capacity.
• The facility was connected to the Abu Dhabi network in December 2021
• .EWEC is continuing to invest heavily in the development of RO projects.

The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has reported that the Taweelah RO facility’s production of desalinated water using low-carbon reverse osmosis (RO) technology has reached 50% capacity.

Taweelah RO, which was connected to the Abu Dhabi network in December 2021, already produces 100 million gallons of desalinated water per day and will eventually produce 200 million, making it the world’s largest RO facility.

“Water production from low-carbon-intensive technologies is a critical strategic pillar for the energy sector’s long-term decarbonization.” “Reaching the key milestone of 50% production capacity at Taweelah RO is a proud occasion not just for EWEC, but for Abu Dhabi and the UAE,” stated Othman Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC.

“Low-carbon-intensive water desalination will allow us to meet Abu Dhabi’s water needs and reduce CO2 emissions significantly.” EWEC is continuing to invest heavily in the development of RO projects as we lead the decoupling of water and power production. By 2030, we expect RO to account for over 90% of our water production, resulting in total carbon emissions associated with water production falling from 14.6 million tonnes in 2020 to 2.1 million tonnes in 2030.”

“We anticipate Taweelah RO attaining full production capacity soon, as well as the start-up of our other reverse osmosis projects in the future years,” he added.

Taweelah RO joins Fujairah F1 Power and Water Plant, Fujairah F2 Combined Cycle Power Plant, and Mirfa M1 as the fourth operating desalination plant with RO capacity. All four facilities collectively produce 227 million gallons of RO water per day, which will increase to 327 million gallons after Taweelah RO reaches full capacity. Water produced utilising low-carbon-intensive RO technology will account for nearly a third of total water production in the emirate of Abu Dhabi at that point.

EWEC is building a number of low-carbon water production plants, including Taweelah RO. EWEC released a Request for Qualifications for the development of the Shuweihat S4 RO plant in December 2021, and a Request for Qualifications for the development of the Shuweihat S4 RO plant in November 2021.

All three new plants will play a vital role in raising system efficiency and maximising resilience, reducing the carbon intensity of the system, and supporting ongoing cost reduction initiatives in the sector, in addition to improving the security of the water supply in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

This is part of EWEC’s larger strategic plan to decouple Abu Dhabi’s power and water generation capacities.