KACST offers knowhow for SWCC plants

The King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) has offered locally developed technology to the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), which is planning to establish three solar powered desalination plants, said President of KACST Muhammad Al-Suwaiyel.
“The KACST will put at the disposal of SWCC all its potential to benefit from its technology developed at the Solar-Powered King Abdullah Initiative for Desalination in all the plants decided to be established in Haqel, Dhuba and Farasan in addition to the plant in Al-Khafji,” Al-Suwaiyel said in a statement yesterday.
Saudi researchers and engineers are working at the KACST’s solar panel manufacturing plant which is operating in line with the latest international standards, he said.
“The plant will be a significant support to the Solar Powered King Abdullah Initiative for Desalination. It will be a turning point for the Kingdom in this field,” Al-Suwaiyel said, adding that the Kingdom has its patent rights and it will herald the beginning of self-reliance in the field of solar energy.
He said the solar plant, which was established in 2010 with an initial annual production capacity of 3MW, was later upgraded to 12MW. The photovoltaic cells manufactured in the plant use advanced technology and are environment friendly and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
SWCC Gov. Abdul Rahman Al-Ibrahim said the three new solar-powered desalination plants to be established would use alternative energy sources and would not depend on oil.
“These solar-powered desalination plants are established to support oil- and gas-powered stations, and we have plans to establish similar plants inside the existing desalination complexes,” he said.
He added that the application of new technology would enable the SWCC to save a lot of energy. “For example, Yanbu-3 plant can save 5 million barrels of oil annually,” he said.
SWCC with a more than SR 60 billion investment is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water, accounting for 18 percent of total global output and 41 percent of the total production of GCC states.
The corporation also supplies 5,000MW, or 9 percent of the Kingdom’s total power production. The SWCC works around the clock to ensure adequate supply of water to Makkah and the holy sites.