Cost Estimating of SWRO
Desalination Plants
Day 3: Desalination Project
Costs – Trends, Examples and
Interactive Session
June 27, 2013
09:00-10:15
3.1 Desalination Cost
Trends
Water
Water Globe
Globe
Nikolay Voutchkov, PE, BCEE
Desalination Cost Trends -
Outline
➘ Overview of Recent Projects and Their Cost
Breakdown
➘ High-end Cost Projects – Key Factors
Contributing to Their High Costs
➘ Low-end Cost Projects – Key Factors
Resulting in Their Low Costs
➘ Impact of Project Delivery on Costs
– Design-Bid-Build (DBB) Projects
– Design-Build-Operate (DBO) Projects
– Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT)
Water Production Costs of
Recent SWRO Desalination
Projects
Key Factors Affecting
Costs
➘ Source Water Quality - TDS, Temperature, Solids, Silt and Organics Content.
➘ Product Water Quality – TDS, Boron, Bromides, Disinfection Compatibility.
➘ Concentrate Disposal Method;
➘ Power Supply & Unit Power Costs;
➘ Project Risk Profile;
➘ Project Delivery Method & Financing;
➘ Other Factors:
– Intake and Discharge System Type;
– Pretreatment & RO System Design;
– Plant Capacity Availability Target.
Common Features of Low-
Cost Desalination Projects
➘ Low Cost HDPE Open Intakes or Beach Wells;
➘ Near-Shore/On-Shore Discharges w/o Diffuser
Systems or Co-discharge w/ Power Plant of
WWTP Outfalls;
➘ Point of Product Water Delivery within 5 Miles
of Desalination Plant Site;
➘ RO System Design w/ Feed of Multiple Trains
by Common High Pressure Pumps and Energy
Recovery Systems;
➘ Turnkey (BOOT, BOO) Method of Project
Delivery.
Key Reasons for Cost Disparity Between
High-End & Low-end Cost Projects
➘ Desalination Site Location (NIMBI vs. Science Driven)
– Costly Plants Have Overly Long Product Water Delivery Pipelines
●
120 MGD Melbourne Plant – Cost of Plant/Delivery + Power Supply Systems =
US$1.7 BB/1.1 BB (50 miles)
●
66 MGD Sydney SWRO Plant – Cost of Plant/Delivery System
= US$560 MM/US$490 MM (10 miles of underground tunnel under Botany Bay).
➘ Environmental Considerations
– Complex Intakes & Diffuser Systems
➘ Phasing Strategy
– Intake and Discharge System Capacity;
– Pretreatment & RO System Design;
➘ Labor Market Pressures
➘ Method of Project Delivery & Risk
Allocation
Project Delivery
Alternatives
➘ Design-Bid-Build (DBB):
– Key Benefit - Utility Owns All Assets;
– Key Disadvantages – Utility Takes All Risks and Reduces Borrowing
Capacity.
➘ Design-Build-Operate (DBO)/”Alliance”:
– Key Benefit – Utility Owns All Assets;
– Key Disadvantages – Utility Shares Some Construction &
Operations Risks and Reduces Borrowing Capacity.
➘ Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT):
– Key Benefit – Utility Transfers Most Risks to Private Sector and
Only Pays for Water it Receives;
– Key Disadvantages – Utility Does Not Own the Assets.
Risk Allocation Profiles for
BOOT & Alliance (DBO)
Project Delivery
Type of Project Risk BOOT Alliance/DBO
Permitting Private Public
Source Water Private Shared
Technology Private Shared
Operations Private Shared
Water Demand Public (Take or
Pay – Private Public
Equity at Risk)
Power Supply Private Public
Construction Private Shared
Financial Private Public
Worldwide the Lowest Cost
of Desalinated Seawater
Has Been Delivered
Under BOO/BOOT
Contracts!
Magtaa Project Bid Structure
Recent Lowest Cost SWRO
Project Bids Worldwide
Cost of Water Power Use
SWRO Plant (US$/m³) (kWh/m³)
& TDS
Sorek, Israel – 411 ML/d 0.53 3.7
BOO (startup – 2014) (40 ppt)
Mactaa, Algeria – 500 ML/d 0.56 3.7
BOOT (startup – 2013) (40 ppt)
Hadera, Israel – 330 ML/d 0.60 3.7
BOO/co-located (startup – 2009) (40 ppt)
Cap Djinet, Algeria – 100 ML/d 0.72 4.0
BOO (startup – 2010) (38 ppt)
Carlsbad, USA – 189 ML/d 0.74 2.9
BOO co-located (startup – 2012) (33.5 ppt)
What All Recent BOOT
Projects Have in Common?
➘ All Yielded the Lowest Costs and Power Use
of Desalinated Water in Their Respective Markets;
➘ Plant Performance & Permitting Risks Reside with the Private
Sector;
➘ Debt Repayment is Private Sector Obligation;
➘ Private Sector Only Gets Paid for Delivering Product Desalinated
Water;
➘ Public Utility Can Buy Out (Transfer) Project Ownership Once Plant
Has Proven Its Long-term Performance.
Ashkelon – Lowest Cost of
Water Worldwide – How Did
They Do It?
Ashkelon –
Cost of Water Breakdown
Source: Dreizin, 2004
Ashkelon – How Did They
Do It?
➘ Low Cost Conventional Pretreatment – Single Stage Dual Media Filters;
➘ Large Size (20-micron) Cartridge Filters;
➘ Three-Center RO Design w/ Pressure Exchangers:
➘ Low Cost Post-Treatment – Calcite Filters & Blending;
➘ Self-Power Generation – 80 MW Gas Generators and Purchase of Rights
to Gas Field Use;
➘ Discharge Collocation with Power Plant in Well Mixed Tidally Influenced
Zone – No Need for Outfall.
Perth & Sydney SWRO
Plants
Cost Breakdowns
Perth Sydney
Capacity (ML/d) 125 250
Distance from intake (km) <1 4.5
Distance to delivery (miles) 26.2 14.3
Total Capital Cost ($M) $325 $1,539
Total Capital Cost – Desal Plant ($M) $281 $982
Total Capital Cost - Delivery ($M) $44 $557
Annualized Capital Cost ($M/yr) $25 $120
Total Annual O&M Costs ($M/yr) $17 $46
Annual O&M Cost – Desal Plant
$16 $42
($M/yr)
Annual O&M Cost – Delivery ($M/yr) $1 $4
Cost of Water – Capital Component
$0.70 $1.65
($/m3)
Cost of Water – O&M Component
$0.44 $0.58
($/m3)
Cost of Water – Delivery Component
$0.02 $0.06
($/m3)
Total Water Cost, $/m3 $1.16 $2.29
adapted from Waterlines:NWC Australia
Be Careful When Comparing
Costs!
➘ Projects Differ By:
– Source Water Salinity and Temperature;
– Product Water Quality;
– Unit Cost of Construction, Labor and Permitting;
– Cost of Capital;
– Unit Cost of Power;
– Source of Equipment Supply;
– Project Completion Schedule.
➘ Projects Have to Be Normalized for These and Other Factors for
Accurate Comparison.
Water Production Costs of
Desalination vs. Indirect Potable
Reuse
Comparison of Huntington Beach
Desalination &
OC Ground Water Replenishment Projects
Orange County GWR Huntington Beach
Key Project Parameters Indirect Potable Reuse Seawater Desalination
Project Project
Water Production Capacity
206 ML/d 189 ML/d
Source Water WWTP Effluent Seawater - Power Plant
Discharge Cooling Water
Location Orange County, Orange County,
California California
Source Water Treatment MF+BWRO+UV+ Granular Medial
Peroxidation+ Filtration+SWRO+
Lime Conditioning Calcite Conditioning
Product Water Delivery Groundwater Recharge Regional Water
Wells Distribution System
Comparison of Costs for Drinking Water
Production
by Indirect Potable Reuse & Seawater
Desalination
Orange County GWR Huntington Beach
Key Cost Parameters Indirect Potable Reuse Seawater
Project Desalination Project
Capital Costs (US$) $486.9 MM @206 ML/d $335 MM @189 ML/d
Power @ US$0.126/kWh U$12.4 MM/yr (1.31 kWh/m³) US24.3 MM/yr (2.8 kWh/m³)
Chemicals US$4.6 MM/yr US$2.3 MM/yr
Maintenance US$1.4 MM/yr US$2.5 MM/yr
Membrane Replacement US$2.4 MM/yr US$0.9 MM/yr
UV Lamp Replacement US$0.3 MM/yr Not Applicable
Labor US$3.6 MM/yr US$2.4 MM/yr
Other O&M Costs US$4.7 MM/yr US$2.3 MM/yr
Total Annual O&M Costs US$29.4 MM/yr US$34.7 MM/yr
Amortized Capital Costs US$27.8 MM/yr US$19.1 MM/yr
Cost of Water Production US$57.2 MM/yr US$53.8 MM/yr
US$0.76/m³ US$0.78/m³
Cost of Extraction/Delivery US$0.12/m³ US$0.07/m³
Total Cost of Water US$0.88/m³ US$0.85/m³
Where Future Cost Savings
Will Come From?
Main Areas Expected to Yield Cost
Savings in the Next 5 Years (20 % Cost
Reduction Target)
➘ Improvements in Membrane Element Productivity:
- Polymetric Membranes (Incorporation of Nano-particles Into
Membrane Polymer Matrix) – CSIRO & UCLA;
- Larger Membrane RO Elements (16” Diameter or Higher).
➘ Increased Membrane Useful Life and Reduced Fouling:
- Smoother Membrane Surface – Carbon Nanotube Membranes –
CSRO & University of Texas (Austin).
- Increased Membrane Material Longevity;
- Use of Systems for Continuous RO Membrane Cleaning;
- UF/MF Membrane Pretreatment.
➘ Commercial Forward Osmosis Systems;
➘ Co-Location With Power Plants;
➘ Regional Desalination and Concentrate Disposal;
➘ Larger RO Trains and Equipment;
➘ Full Automation of All Treatment Processes.
Nano-Structured SWRO
Membranes
Potential to
Reduce 60 to 80 %
of Energy Costs &
15 to 25 % of Cost
of Water
OASYS
Research Directions to Meet the
Long-Term 80 % Cost Reduction
Goal
➘ Improve Membrane Useful Life and Productivity;
➘ Develop Corrosion Resistant Non-Metallic Materials
to Replace High-Quality/High Cost Stainless Steel
RO Piping;
➘ Reduce Pretreatment Costs;
➘ Develop New-Generation Energy Recovery Systems;
➘ Introduce Low-Cost Technologies for Beneficial
Concentrate Use and Disposal;
➘ Explore New Technologies for Seawater Desalination
Different from RO and Thermal Evaporation.
Aquaporine-Based
Desalination
“The Best” of Seawater
Desalination
Present Status & Future
Parameter Forecasts
Today Within 5 Years Within 20 Years
Cost of Water (US$/m³) US$0.6-0.8 US$0.5-0.6 US$0.1-0.2
Construction Cost 1.2-2.4 1.0-2.0 0.5-1.0
(Million US$/ML)
Power Use 2.8-4.0 2.5-3.5 2.0-2.5
(kWh/m³)
Membrane Productivity 5,000-12,000 8,000-15,000 20,000-40,000
(gallons/day/membrane)
Membrane Useful Life 5-7 7-10 10-15
(years)
Plant Recovery Ratio 45-50 50-55 55-65
(%)
Concluding Remarks
➘ The Ocean Will Become One of the Key Sources of
Reliable and Draught-Proof Coastal Water Supply in the
Next 10 to 20 Years;
➘ Large-scale Seawater Desalination is Economical
Today and Will Become Even More Cost-Competitive in
the Future;
➘ The Future of Seawater Desalination Is Bright – 20%
Cost of Water Reduction in the Next 5 Years;
➘ Long-term Investment In Research and Development
Has the Potential to Reduce the Cost of Desalinated
Water by 80 % In the Next 20 Years.
Desalination Cost Trends
Question
s?
Coffee Break
