PLOCAN participates in the Consortium of the DESALIFE project, Desalination for Environmental Sustainability and Life, led by the startup Ocean Oasis Canarias, which will demonstrate and validate the innovative desalination technology using wave energy in the North of Gran Canaria.
Also participating in the Consortium are the Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias (ITC), the Grupo de Investigación en Sistemas de Energías Renovables (GRRES) of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), and elittoral, an environmental consultancy specialising in coastal and marine environments.
Also participating in the Consortium are the Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias (ITC), the Grupo de Investigación en Sistemas de Energías Renovables (GRRES) of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), and elittoral, an environmental consultancy specialising in coastal and marine environments.
DESALIFE aims to demonstrate and validate wave-powered desalination as a sustainable and affordable solution to secure the island’s water future, further contributing to the local economy by attracting international investment and generating employment.
The solution is based on technology developed by the Norwegian Ocean Oasis Group that draws on the experience and expertise of the Norwegian offshore and shipping industry in its design. This technology has been perfected in the GAIA pilot buoy which has been operating in trials in the port of Las Palmas over the past year. DESALIFE is now advancing to a full-scale pre-commercial phase and its production will be connected to the EDAM Arucas-Moya.
This floating technology desalinates seawater through a reverse osmosis process that uses only wave energy, thus consuming no electricity from the grid and producing no associated CO2 emissions.
The Minister of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Miranda, highlighted the values of this project ‘which combines solutions to the need to increase water production on the islands with an environmentally friendly alternative’.
The use of marine energies for the production of desalinated water makes it possible to increase the production capacity in this electro-intensive process by means of a renewable source and without increasing the demand for electricity, contributing to the decarbonisation of the islands.
Wave energy potential in the North of Gran Canaria
The North of Gran Canaria has a high potential for the use of wave energy. The supply of drinking water to the municipalities in this area depends to a large extent on three seawater desalination plants managed by the Gran Canaria Island Water Board (CIAGC). One of these, the EDAM Arucas-Moya, will contribute to the implementation and operation phases of the European DESALIFE project by integrating fresh water produced by wave energy.
During the project, the Arucas-Moya WWTP will receive a freshwater contribution of up to 2,000 m3/day (annual average) produced in the open sea, equivalent to the daily consumption of 15,000 people.
DESALIFE will study the replicability of the project to provide renewable freshwater to other islands in the archipelago that also require greater water production, helping to ensure that this is no longer a limiting factor for the region’s potential and thus facilitating the transition towards a sustainable, energy efficient and climate change resilient economy in the archipelago.
