Desalinators, wind turbines in Caspian Sea to help Azerbaijan to overcome it’s water crisis Review by Caliber.Az

The global problem of freshwater scarcity stands on Azerbaijan's agenda as well, which has been facing the problem of desertification for decades. A number of measures are being implemented in the country at the moment to optimize the management of water resources, such as the construction of new water reservoirs, irrigation canals and the utilization of water resources from the Karabakh region. The possibility of establishing a wastewater recycling system is also being evaluated. One of the ideal options is the creation of a desalination plant in the Caspian Sea. A few days ago, the memorandum for such an undertaking was signed between the Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC) and Israeli I.D.E. Water Assets (IDE).

The problem of irrigation water scarcity was most acute in Azerbaijan over the last four years due to successive dry seasons bringing little rainfall, a volume reduction in the flow of mountain rivers and the shallowing of the Kura and Araz River basins. All these factors combined have led to serious problems for agriculture and the water supply in several parts of the country. Aimed at overcoming these processes, a large-scale programme is being implemented, involving the creation of new reservoirs, the paving of irrigation canals with concrete and polymeric materials, as well as the use of modern and efficient irrigation systems.

The harnessing of resources like rivers, lakes and reservoirs from the water-rich regions of the Lesser Caucasus, where 24 medium- and small-sized reservoirs are located, is of enormous importance to the solution of the irrigation water scarcity problem. Along with the potential of the Khudaferin reservoir, carrying a capacity of more than 1.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) and the Sarsang and Sugovushan reservoirs with a capacity of 560 million and 6 million cubic meters (mcm) respectively, it is planned to either upgrade or build 9 reservoirs in the Karabakh region from the ground up. This includes the construction of a large reservoir, Hakarichay, with a 90 mcm capacity while repair works are ongoing on the reservoirs Kondalanchay 1, Kondalanchay 2 and Lower Kondalanchay. The construction of the Agdamkend, Khachynchay and Bargushad reservoirs is planned.

According to expert evaluations, the hydroelectric facilities being established in the Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions will play an important role in providing irrigation and water supply to the western and south-western regions of Azerbaijan. The coastal Absheron peninsula, as well as the semi-desert lands to the southeast of Baku, are experiencing their own share of problems with a lack of irrigation and drinking water. The laying of irrigation canals and water pipelines from the water surplus regions in western Azerbaijan is very labour-intensive and costly, and given the inevitable intermediate loss of water is not always cost-effective.

It is worthwhile noting that this situation is rather typical for many countries of the world, where regions with a water surplus are located far away from large cities that have an ever-increasing population, large industrial centres and agricultural lands. In the arid regions of the world - North Africa, the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia and Australia - the potential reserves of fresh water are not even enough for the full-fledged presence of human civilization. This is not surprising, as the combined share of freshwater (with a salt water content of less than 1 g per kg) on Earth accounts for only 1.7% of the world’s reserves, of which only 0.001% stem from rivers. The majority of the water (over 98%), accounts for the seas and oceans but because of its high salinity (35 g per kg), this abundance of moisture was hardly ever used until the mid-20th century for household purposes or urban water supply.

In recent decades, the leading countries of the world have been actively introducing various technologies for the desalination of sea water, and, according to UN experts, this trend will become the mainstream direction for resolving the water problem in the near future. There are more than 800 large desalination plants in the world, located mainly in the desert areas of the Persian Gulf, Israel and northern Australia which are being operated with nuclear and solar power.

For some time now, alternative solutions to the water crisis are being studied in Azerbaijan, such as the construction of desalinators on the Caspian Sea coast. The Ministry of Ecology of Azerbaijan has already considered projects regarding the desalination of salt lakes in the Absheron peninsula, where it is possible to install floating solar panels that will generate the required energy.

A few years ago, at the initiative of the Ministry of Ecology together with the participation of Israeli companies, a trial project in this field was implemented: a desalination plant was built 80 km south of Baku, near the village of Khidirly, at the junction of the Garadagh and Salyan districts. Together with this complex, carrying a capacity of 1 000 cubic meters, a modern seedling nursery is located there, which uses desalinated water for their irrigation. Desalination plants of smaller capacity were created by SOCAR on the islands of Chilov and Qum, with a similar facility operating on the Shimal-2 thermal power station.

Typically, industrial desalinators are based on the principles of seawater distillation, reverse osmosis technology, electrodialysis, freezing and ion exchange. Distillation plants and reverse osmosis filters are sometimes used as well. However, the process of desalinating seawater, especially on an industrial scale, is expensive because of the high energy costs. Therefore, the most promising option in this regard is the creation of desalinators in the Caspian Sea, with electricity being generated from renewable energy sources (RES), namely through marine wind turbines. According to the joint research of specialists from the Ministry of Energy and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) that developed the road map for such a project, preliminary data shows that the technical potential of wind energy in the Azerbaijani part of the Caspian Sea is estimated at 157 GWh.

They rank the Caspian Sea second in the world in terms of the potential for wind power. Of course, this task is technically difficult, as it will be necessary to build wind generators with a height exceeding 90 meters, while the installation of marine turbines on the Caspian Sea requires considerable investments. Therefore, only a small part of the existing capacity can be used for actual exploitation. However, even a small part of the energy produced by the Caspian Sea can solve many problems in the spheres of energy- and water supply. In particular, the country plans to realize the wind power potential of the Caspian Sea, estimated at 7.2 GWh, until 2036. This generated “green” electricity could then be supplied to Europe, for example, through a submarine high-voltage cable running through the Black Sea. In partnership with specialized firms from Norway and the UAE, the prospects of introducing technologies for the production of “green” hydrogen by the use of electrolysis of sea water are also being studied in Azerbaijan.

The electricity generated by offshore wind turbines could in the future also be used to power industrial desalinators. Even before the beginning of the development of the Caspian Sea’s wind potential in Azerbaijan, seawater desalination projects are already being implemented with Israel, in particular their leading state company Mekorot, being the key partner. It should be noted here, that Israel is the world leader in the development of desalination and water treatment technologies. The world’s largest sea desalination plant - producing 108 million cubic meters of fresh water per year- is located there.

Thanks to the use of desalination plants, the country is capable of covering the whole demand of water supply of its cities today, as well as over 80% of that for agricultural lands. Recycled water is also being used in the middle eastern country, making Israel the biggest user in the world of this method. A logical continuation of the Azerbaijan-Israel partnership was the recent signing of a partnership memorandum between the AIC and the Israeli IDE companies. “The agreement entails the completion of the construction works of the desalination complex in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea”, Azerbaijani Minister of Economy, Mikayil Jabbarov, wrote on his office Facebook page on October 10.

While details such as the exact location, capacity and required investments for the construction of the desalination plant in the Caspian Sea have not been announced yet, there can be no doubt regarding the effectiveness and success of the Israeli IDE company’s undertakings in Azerbaijan, given their 40-year experience during which they constructed and operated more than 400 plants in 40 countries, such as China, India, USA and Australia, as well as providing 70% of the required water supply of Israel.