Abstract
Given the extraordinary proliferation of seawater desalination plants, Israel’s transition to become a country that almost exclusively relies on desalination for municipal water supply is instructive as a case study, especially given concerns about the technology’s prodigious carbon footprint. This article offers a detailed description of the country’s desal experience with a focus on the associated energy requirements, environmental policies and perspectives of decision makers. Israel’s desalination plants are arguably the most energy-efficient in the world. The present consensus among government engineers, however, is that meaningful improvements in energy efficiency are unlikely in the foreseeable future. Official evaluations of increased introduction of solar-driven reverse osmosis (RO) processes concluded that mitigation of greenhouse gases will have to be attained in industries other than the water sector. The article details myriad environmental benefits that desalination has brought the country. However, it argues that given the imperative of stabilizing atmospheric concentration of carbon, and the modest renewable energy supply to Israel’s national grid to date, public policy can no longer offer the water industry a path of least resistance. Present plans envision a significant expansion of Israel’s desal infrastructure, requiring a far higher commitment to renewable energy supply and regulations phasing down present energy demands.
Highlights
As climate change [1] and burgeoning population [2] exacerbates scarcity for residents living in water-stressed regions around the world, desalination increasingly emerges as a critical technology [3].A 2015 survey by the International Desalination Association reported that 18,426 desal plants already produce more than 86.9 cubic meters each day for over 300 million people [4] in 150 countries [5].In recent years, more and more large desalination facilities are being built
As dryland countries facing water scarcity begin to consider a potential role for desalination in their hydrological portfolio, climate change must be considered in developing the associated energy strategy
Even though Israel’s desal plants are arguably the most efficient in the world, they make an ever-increasing contribution to the country’s carbon footprint. This in no way means that environmental advocates need to disqualify desalination as a water supply strategy
Summary
As climate change [1] and burgeoning population [2] exacerbates scarcity for residents living in water-stressed regions around the world, desalination increasingly emerges as a critical technology [3]. The document is conspicuously short on specifics This in no way means that increasing the energy conservation and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with desalination are “non-issues” in Israel. This article presents the country’s experience and present thinking about the so-called water-energy nexus, evaluating measures that might be taken to reduce the carbon footprint of Israel’s water production system. It opens with a brief review of the Israeli desalination network and the associated environmental impacts. Chief among these is the contribution of desalinated water production to the country’s aggregate greenhouse gas emissions. The article concludes that while modest additional reductions in energy consumption in the desalination process through engineering innovations may yet be attained, a truly sustainable domestic water supply system will only be achieved when desalination comes to rely on renewable energy sources
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