As a result of the water supply crisis during the severe
1997–2009 drought State governments
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
around
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
began building
desalination plants
Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Saltw ...
that purify seawater using
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 ...
technology. Many of these plants have included in their overall cost the building of renewable energy sources such as wind farms.
Australia's first working desalination plant was the
Perth Seawater Desalination Plant that was completed in November 2006. A second plant on the Gold Coast began operations in February 2009. The
Kurnell Desalination Plant
The Sydney Desalination Plant also known as the Kurnell Desalination Plant is a potable drinking water desalination plant that forms part of the water supply system of Greater Metropolitan Sydney. The plant is located in the Kurnell industri ...
in Sydney was opened on 28 January 2010.
List of desalination plants
Desalination plants in use
Smaller desalination plants
Secondary desalination plants, citations
[G. Crisp and E.A. Swinton, Desalination in Australia: A review, Water 35(2) (2008) 94.][Evans, G. “Sydney Desalination.” Water-technology. 26 August 2008. Web. 28 April 2010. ][Desal plant gets final approval.” WAtoday. 24 June 2009. Web. 1 May 2010 ][Desalination – Project Information.” SA Water. Government of South Australia. n.d. Web. 1 May 2010. ][Gipson, D. “Take Bligh’s promises on Bribie Island desalination plan with grain of salt.” LNP. 19 April 2010. Web. 29 April 2010. ][Lucas, P. “Study rules out two future desalination plant sites.” Queensland Government. 23 February 2009. Web. 30 April 2010. ]Industries - Resorts
''Ausmos'' Retrieved 2014-01-09.
Desalination plants in development or cancelled
See also
*Energy in Australia
Energy in Australia is the production in Australia of energy and electricity, for consumption or export. Energy policy of Australia describes the politics of Australia as it relates to energy.
Australia is a net energy exporter, and was the ...
* Seawater desalination in Australia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desalination plants in Australia
Lists of buildings and structures in Australia