Pioneering desalination project launched in the Maldives
19 Feb 2014, 5:19 PM
Daniel Bosley
The island of Gulhi, in Kaafu atoll, yesterday became the first place in the world to produce desalinated drinking water using waste heat from electricity generation.
The project – a joint venture between state electricity supplier STELCO and UK registered charity the Aquiva Foundation – will produce around 8000 litres of water for local consumption.
“We think this is a fantastic opportunity for the Maldives, but if it works in the Maldives the way we think it will, I think the world will look differently at desalinating water, because all of a sudden you can do it sustainably on a really large scale,” said Aquiva CEO Florian Bollen.
The lack of fresh drinking water in the country’s 190 inhabited islands – made worse with the contamination of groundwater following the 2004 tsunami – leaves most communities reliant on rainwater and vulnerable to shortages during the dry seasons.
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