International Desalination Association Convenes First Meeting of Global Energy Task Force During International Water Summit

The International Desalination Associaation (IDA) will convene the first meeting of its global Energy Task force in conjunction with the International Water Summit, which takes place 15-17 January in Abu Dhabi. The goal of IDAEnergy Task Force is to achieve a 20% reduction in energy consumption in all major seawater desalination processes by 2015.
The meeting will be held on the afternoon of January 15 at the Capital Gate Hyatt in Abu Dhabi.

The agenda for the Task Forces meeting is to create a framework that will encourage and promote strategies to further enhance energy efficiency in desalination processes. As a result of the meeting, the Task Force will focus on establishing existing energy requirements, outlining specific targets for each process, and supporting and building on existing initiatives by developing guidelines for energy reduction. The Task Force will also encourage members of the desalination industry to develop pilot and demonstration plants designed to meet the stated targets.

The Task Force comprises a network of experts from around the world, representing utilities (end-users), suppliers, consultants, research & development institutions and academia, as well as IDA Technical Programs Committee. The Task Force is composed of the following members:

Mr. Ahmed Al Mudaiheem, Consultant and Director, IDA
Eng. Zamzam Al Rakaf, Deputy Chief Engineer, Director of Design in Desalination Projects, Ministry of Electricity & Water, State of Kuwait, and Director, IDA
Mr. Michel Canet, Executive Vice President of Major Projects Group, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, and Treasurer/Director, IDA
Eng Houmood El Anizi, Kuwait
Mr. Chip Harris, Chief Technical Officer, Aqualyng Holding A S
Mr. KHOO Teng Chye, Executive Director of the Centre for Liveable Cities, Ministry of National Development, Singapore, and Director, IDA
Mr. Chew Men Leong, Chief Executive PUB of Singapore
Prof. John H. Lienhard V, Executive Officer of the Center for Clean Energy and Water at MIT and KFUPM
Mr. Neil Palmer, Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination (NCED) at Murdoch University in Western Australia, and Director, IDA
Mr. Miguel Angel Sanz, Director Development & Innovation - B.L. Iberia, Africa & Latin America, Degrémont, and Director, IDA
Dr. Andrew Shapiro, Principal Engineer, GE Global Research
Prof. Dr. Gary Amy, Director Desalination and Water Reuse Center, KAUST
Dr. Richard Stover, Executive Vice President, Desalitech, Ltd., and Director, IDA

In addition to the Task Force members, IDA has invited to the meeting a number of observers who can contribute to the discussion.

The Task Force was launched in early 2012 at the 6th World Water Forum held in Marseille, where reception for this program exceeded expectations, according to Leon Awerbuch, Chairman of IDA’s Energy Task Force Steering Committee.

We were greeted with a standing room only audience and participation by many young people interested in strategies to enhance energy efficiency. The result was a very exciting dialog between the audience and panelists. We look forward to this opportunity to engage leading industry representatives and other key stakeholders in a continuation of this important conversation, which builds on the success of the success of the desalination industry in achieving more than a 50% reduction in energy consumption over the past two decades,â€

Emirate:  Abu Dhabi

Date: Jan 10, 2013

Back