Solving Cyprus’ water crisis

Sir,
Cyprus faces dramatic water shortages in the Spring, which will have economic consequences for local agriculture and the tourist industry.

The recent abrupt termination of supplies (50,000 cubic metres daily) for 36 hours in Limassol resulting from disruption to imported supplies resulting from a stupid commercial wrangle should have focussed attention to the fragility of current supply arrangements.

The temporary Moni desalination plant will only have a daily capacity of 20,000 cubic metres – and at double the cost of the current plants at Dhekelia and Larnaca – €1.37per cu. metre.
It is essential therefore to plan for a rapid increase in availability by extra shipments, increased production (sacrificing some quality standards on a temporary basis) from current desalination. This could produce another 70-80,000 cubic metres per day.

Plans must be instituted immediately for new desalination plants to be operating by end 2009/Spring 2010 (with grant aid from the EU) to bring desalinated water production up to 60 million cubic meters per year. This must also be priced (requiring support if required) at no greater cost than currently supplied to agriculture.

The current advertisement for Research Scientists and Engineers for the Cyprus Institute/MIT “Concentrated Solar Power – Desalinisation Project” illustrates the somnolent and academic otherworldly view of the immediate problem facing Cyprus.

The juvenile view of the equivalence of sea water and solar power cannot be translated into a viable technology unless the laws of thermodynamics change dramatically. Such research whilst fascinating has no practical utility and is already well developed within the EU at the Plataforma Solar de Almería’s SSPS-DCS Unit in Spain, which have shown remarkably low (10-12% overall) efficiencies, unacceptable electricity production costs (20 Eurocents KWH) without factoring in the high maintenance of reflective surfaces in maritime environments. To duplicate this research effort is pointless until the immediate problems Cyprus faces are resolved. 

Those interested should look at the experience of Perth in Western Australia where they have introduced wind powered electricity for orthodox desalination plants – or nearer at hand the work undertaken in greening the desert in Abu Dhabi.
The best hope for the littoral Mediterranean is to jointly develop integrated gas fired close coupled units with flash desalination – LUKoil should be very interested in helping with such a project.

Edward Teague,
Larnaca

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