The Erongo Desalination Plant, also known as the Orano Desalination Plant, is a

sea water Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approx ...

desalination plant in Namibia. The facility was constructed between 2008 and 2010 by ''Orano Mining Namibia'', which at the time was known as ''Areva Resources Namibia''. The desalination plant was established to supply water to Orano’s ''Trekkopje Uranium Mine''. At the time this plant was commissioned, it was the largest

reverse osmosis Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pre ...

desalination plant in Southern Africa.

Location

The desalination plant is located in the Namib Desert, near the settlement of

Wlotzkasbaken Wlotzkasbaken or Wlotzka's Baken (german: Wlotzka's beacon, often shortened to Wlotzka or Wlotzkas) is a holiday settlement on Namibia Atlantic coast, situated approximately halfway between Swakopmund and Hentiesbay. The area around the village l ...

, in the Erongo Region of Namibia. The plant is located approximately north of Swakopmund, the nearest large town. Swakopmund is located approximately by road, west of Windhoek, the capital and largest city in the country. The geographical coordinates of Erongo Desalination Plant are 22°22'19.0"S, 14°26'28.0"E (Latitude:-22.371944; Longitude:14.441111).

Overview

The Erongo Desalination Plant was developed and is owned by ''Orano Resources Namibia'' (formerly Areva Resources Namibia). The purified drinking water was primarily intended for use in Orano's uranium mine known as the

Trekkopje Mine The Trekkopje mine is a shallow open pit mine which has been under care and maintenance since 2012. It is located at Trekkopje in the western part of Namibia in Erongo Region. Trekkopje represents one of the largest uranium reserves in Namibia, h ...

, located near Arandis, Namibia. The clean water has to be pumped from the plant to Arandis, a straight-line distance of about and a road distance of approximately . The plant is operated by ''Nafasi Water'', a "water technology and water utility service company", based in Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa. The potable water is then sold to NamWater, the national water utility company, for distribution to the city of Swakopmund, the nearby mines and other areas of Erongo Region. Output can be varied according to demand ranging from annually to , with the present infrastructure. If the need arose new infrastructure can be added to supply annually. The raw

is taken through the following processes, during purification: (a) screen filtration (b) ultrafiltration (c)

(d) limestone contact and (e) chlorination.

Cost

The development of this water treatment plant cost N$2.5 billion (approx. US$153 million) in 2010.

Other developments

In July 2022, the owners of this facility signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with ''InnoSun'' (a subsidiary of the French firm ''InnoVent'') to design, build, own, operate and maintain a 5 MW solar power station and supply that energy to Erongo Desalination Plant for a 10-year contract term, starting on the date of commercial commissioning. Construction is expected to start during the second half of 2022, with commissioning expected in 2023. Orano expects the new solar farm to reduce the desalination plant's carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent or nearly 10,000 metric tonnes annually.

References

External links