The desalination plant in Carboneras, Almería was designed in 1999 and came on line in 2005. The recently awarded contract also includes drafting the blueprints and carrying out the work to improve the plant’s energy efficiency.
The project has Next Generation EU funding and ensures reduced energy consumption rates and an extended life cycle for the equipment, unlocking the possibility to increase production.
The desalination plant has a capacity of 120,000 m3 per day and has a set of 12 production lines with Pelton turbines, although current technology allows greater energy savings through isobaric chamber systems. This system was implemented in two of the lines in 2016.
By installing the new equipment, the ten remaining production lines will be condensed into five with twice the output.
When it was built, the Carboneras desalination plant was the largest seawater desalination plant in Europe, and it also has the objective of guaranteeing the water supply for municipalities and irrigation water for 7,000 hectares in Campo de Níjar.