Israel's IDE to design largest desalination plant in US

Israel-based IDE Technologies announced that it has signed a contract with one of the largest desalination construction companies in the United States to design and supply equipment for the largest seawater desalination plant in the country. According to the company's press release, the facility will be located near the Encina Power Station in Carlsbad, California. The company has also signed a contract directly with Poseidon Resources for Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of the plant for a period of 30 years. Construction on the Carlsbad Project will begin in 2013 and produce up to 54 million gallons of fresh, high quality water per day in 2016, increasing the reliability of the region’s water supply, IDE said. The Carlsbad plant follows IDE's latest technological developments in various desalination plants worldwide, especially in the pretreatment phase, resulting in higher efficiency and reduced energy consumption, as well as high quality water. IDE's technology will help the San Diego County Water Authority alleviate the water shortage problem and achieve its goal of having 7% of the region’s water supply come from seawater desalination by 2020. "The Carlsbad Desalination Project is a significant milestone for us, California and the US at large, as we believe it will set the stage for the future of desalination in America," Avshalom Felber, CEO of IDE Technologies said. "For decades, we’ve successfully completed similar projects in countries all over the world, and we’re excited to be a part of what will be the largest desalination plant in the US." Mark Lambert, CEO of IDE Americas, added: "Our view is that the Carlsbad project that we’re about to embark upon will accelerate both the visibility of desalination in North America and the ability of potential clients, both public and private, to understand how creative project delivery, creative finance and innovative process design allow these types of projects to happen. "The movement in the US toward desalination has been a long time coming, and we’re ready to lead the charge." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter