Perth gets Wind Powered Desalinization plant

Schematic of the Reverse Osmosis process, which uses a spiral-wound membrane module

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Perth Seawater Desalination Plant, Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO), Kwinana, Australia

With the official opening of the Perth Seawater Reverse Osmosis Plant in November 2006, Western Australia became the first state in the country to use desalination as a major public water source – and this may be simply the beginning. Facing a drying climate, the Water Corporation of Western Australia is actively exploring a variety of options to meet growing demands, which makes building a second SWRO facility a serious prospect to consider.

Located at Kwinana, some 25km south of the city, the new plant has an initial daily capacity of 140,000m³ with designed expansion to 250,000m³/day, making it the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere and the biggest in the world to be powered by renewable energy. Ultimately supplying 17% of Perth’s needs, the plant will be the largest single contributor to the area’s integrated water supply scheme and provide an annual 45GL, to help serve the 1.5 million population.

"Supplying 17% of Perth’s needs, the plant will be the largest single contributor to the area’s integrated water supply scheme."

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The total project cost was AUS$387m, with annual running costs of under $20m – less than one dollar per week per household. The anticipated water cost has been estimated at $1.17/kl.

BACKGROUND

Growing concern over the dwindling natural supplies of water across the region in the wake of the hotter, drier shift in the climate acted as the main driver on the project. The winter of 2001 saw the poorest inflow of water to the reservoirs serving the Perth metropolitan area since 1914 and by 2002 it was clear that the region was suffering the worst two-year drought on record. In 2005, it was confirmed that in the eight years from 1997 stream flows had dropped to an annual average of 115GL compared with the 161GL/yr over the previous 23 years (1974–1997).

The initial response was to implement a medium-term drought recovery plan, which included restrictions on sprinkler use, obtaining a temporary increase in groundwater allocation and the provision of $142m to further augment supply capacity.

This led to the construction of three bores into the Yarragadee aquifer deep below Perth's northern suburbs and a further nine into the shallower aquifer at Mirrabooka. Two new dams were also constructed in the South West, where rainfall is naturally more plentiful – at Samson Brook and Wokalup Creek.

By 2004, these combined initiatives had added nearly 40GL of water to the municipality's integrated supply system.

To safeguard the future of supply in the longer term, the Water Corporation have adopted what they have termed a 'security through diversity' strategy. Competitive tendering for the new plant design began in September 2004 between pre-qualified consortia and bids were received in the following February. In April 2005, the contract for the plant was awarded and construction began almost immediately, with work beginning on the pumping station in May and pipeline construction in September.

THE PLANT

The Cockburn Sound is an area of environmental sensitivity so the potential impact of the new plant on this water has been extensively considered and strict monitoring conditions have been imposed on TDS, temperature, DO and the sediment habitat in the vicinity.

The plant is designed to operate continuously, drawing water with an input salinity of 35,000mg/l to 37,000mg/l at 16°C to 24°C via the new intake structure. This amounts to under 0.02% of the water in the sound being removed per day, which first passes through a pre-treatment filter to protect the pores of the membranes, before being forced through the spiral wound membrane elements of the RO treatment trains.

After treatment, the product water is treated with lime, chloride and fluoride before being stored and ultimately being blended with water from other sources and entering the municipal integrated supply system. The filter backwash and concentrate stream is returned to the sound.

Although the concentrate flow is about 7% salt, the discharge nozzles are designed to act as diffusers, ensuring that mixed water salinity falls to less than 4% within 50m of the discharge point. As a result, there will be less than 1% increase in the salinity of the receiving waters.

Electricity for the desalination plant – which has an overall 24MW requirement and a production demand of 4.0kWh/kl to 6.0kWh/kl – comes from the new 80MW Emu Downs Wind Farm, which consists of 48 wind turbines located 30km east of Cervantes. Developed by Stanwell Corporation, a power generation corporation owned by Queensland Government and Western Australia's Griffin Energy, this facility commenced operation in 2006.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

"Electricity for the desalination plant comes from the new 80MW Emu Downs Wind Farm, which consists of 48 wind turbines located 30km east of Cervantes."

Wind turbines at sunset. The Emu Down Wind Farm provides the new plant with electricity making it the largest facility of its kind anywhere in the world to be powered by renewable energy.