Abengoa SA (Seville, Spain), in consortium with the company SEPCOIII, has started commercial operation of phase two of the Taweelah desalination plant (Abu Dhabi), following the successful completion of the contractual tests. This is the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in the world (909,218 m3/day) and the first to combine the production of drinking water with the generation of clean energy. The project is located at the Taweelah power and water generation complex, 45 km north of Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
Specifically, testing for Taweelah group two was successfully completed on April 9. Following the successful completion of the contractual tests, commercial operation of phase two of the Taweelah desalination plant has been declared by our client, the leading developer, investor, owner and operator of power generation and desalinated water production plants, ACWA Power, TAQA and Mubadala.
Previously, in phase one of Taweelah, which entered commercial operation and was delivered to the customer in mid-2022, Abengoa managed to desalinate 450,000 m3/day. The plant produces 909,218 m3/day (phase one + phase two), making it the world’s largest plant in production. The Taweelah desalination plant guarantees supply to the city of Abu Dhabi (approximately four and a half million people) throughout the year and is the first large-scale plant in the emirate to combine the production of drinking water with the generation of clean energy, thanks to the installation of a photovoltaic solar field with a capacity of more than 70 MWp. The project will reduce the energy demand of the desalination plant in a sustainable manner. Furthermore, this project, located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, is part of the plan developed by the government of the United Arab Emirates to encourage private participation in the development of the country’s infrastructures.
Abengoa’s scope of work at the Taweelah plant included the design, engineering, supply of the main equipment, supervision of assembly, commissioning, start-up of the reverse osmosis and post-treatment systems and advice on the pre-treatment processes carried out by third parties. All in all, the Taweelah desalination plant meets each one of the drinking water parameters required by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including hardness, alkalinity, LSI (Langelier Saturation Index), SDI (Silt density Index), pH and boron content.
Abengoa once again demonstrates its capacity to develop complex projects from the technical point of view, and to adapt to adverse working conditions, in very diverse countries, providing an optimum response to the client’s requirements. It also consolidated its position as a leading company in the desalination sector worldwide, and strengthened its presence in the Middle East, where it has a very extensive portfolio: in Saudi Arabia, the Jubail 3A desalination plant (600. 000 m3/day), Rabigh III (600,000 m3/day) and Shuaibah III (250,000 m3/day), all completed; Dubal (47,750 m3/day), in the United Arab Emirates, in operation; and Salalah (114,000 m3/day), in Oman, also completed.