Plant that supplies power and water proposed
Waste heat and excess power from a power plant can cut desalination costs, say an industry player, but it is unclear if bids will include hybrid idea
SINGAPORE may get a new power plant along with its first desalination plant for drinking water.
The Public Utilities Board (PUB) is calling for pre-qualification tenders for a desalination plant that will produce 30 million gallons a day.
The private sector will own, build and operate this plant.
AquaGen International, a company that already has a small desalination plant here, told The Straits Times it was interested in building a hybrid plant, which combines two desalination methods and will also generate power.
Power plants generate a lot of waste heat, and sometimes produce excess power, which can be diverted to a desalination plant instead of being wasted.
AquaGen’s general manager, Mr Steve Tai, is upbeat about the possibilities.
He said: "That is the treatment of the future. Hybridisation would generate better returns. We would have more flexibility to adjust resources. The combination would give higher returns and a cheaper price to consumers."
He added ruefully: "I have the water part, but I need the power part now to complete the puzzle."
SembCorp Utilities, which already has a power plant in its group of companies, SembCorp Industries, also plans a bid for the water-production plant.
But neither company could say if its bid would propose marrying water and power generation.
Mr Tai said the rules of the bid allow consortium players to band together, as well as let companies mix different technologies in a hybrid plant.
Bidders aiming to secure the 20-year PUB contract to supply the board with desalinated water can choose where they want to site the plant and the technology they will use.
Before, it had been announced that companies would have to site the plant at Tuas.
Said a PUB senior engineer, Mr Sivaraman Arasu: "There is flexibility but it has to be exercised with great responsibility."
The plant could hardly be sited in the middle of a Housing Board estate, he said.
He also said the originally proposed Tuas site will be available to bidders.
He cautioned against expectations that consumers will end up paying less. He said: "This is everyone’s wish. But it is difficult to say if costs will go up or down at this point in time."
Much depends, for exarnple, on the cost of energy to power the plants, the site costs and the water tariffs, he said.
In Singapore, the water tariffs are priced to encourage conservation.
People who really want very low prices should consider drinking treated sewage water, said Mr Koh Wai Keat, a senior manager at US Filter Asia.
It is part of Vivendi Water Systems, a global company that is involved in water treatment.
Said Mr Koh: "Highly treated sewage water is two to three times cheaper than desalinated water."
But for most people, the very thought of its source would be enough to put them off.
-By Sharmilpal Kaur
Source : The Straits Times, Mar 23, 2001
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