Autonomous Desalination system concepts for sea water and brackish water In Rural Areas with renewable energies – potentials, technologies, field experience, socio-technical and socio-economic impacts (ADIRA)

Objective
The objective of the ADIRA project is to develop concepts to supply rural areas with fresh water produced from sea or brackish water. This will alleviate water shortage in areas with scarce water resources. Target countries are Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Turkey.

How does ADIRA work?
The project focuses on autonomous desalination systems (ADS) powered by solar or wind energy. Existing concepts and technologies are being adapted for this use and their potential for the Mediterranean region is being evaluated. Environmental, organisational, and socio-economic aspects are taken into ac-count as well.

Activities
The project has assessed water supply conditions in the rural areas of the target countries and selected suitable sites and operators for pilot installations. At the same time, institutional obstacles for the implementation of ADS have been identified.
Technical information for the design and construction of each unit has been collected and training and awareness-raising has been conducted among designers, installers, future operators and water users.
The project has recently entered the phase where more than 10 autonomous systems will be installed in the target countries. These systems will be tested on reliability of the used technology.
Finally, local stakeholders and authorities will be supported to develop concrete plans for the operation of the installations and the transfer of the technology to new sites.

Project partners
ADIRA works with seven institutions from the MEDA partner countries Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Turkey, and the EU countries Greece and Spain. The project is coordinated by the Agricultural University of Athens in Greece. WIP Renewable Energy from Germany is a sub-contractor.
The Middle East Desalination Centre in Oman contributes as an additional sponsor.