13 - 19 January 2000

Malta used as testing ground for US energy company

by Franco Aloisio

The Maltese Desalination System in Ghar Lapsi has been used by an American energy company, Ocean Power Corporation, as a testing ground for the worldwide launch of a new energy system.

For the past few months Ocean Power Corporation has used the Seawater Desalination System at Ghar Lapsi to prove the capabilities of a new desalination system devised by the same company. The system, known as H20kW, was brought over from the US and tested successfully in Malta.

The H20kW system integrates the production of water and power, while using a variety of fuel sources. The system, used in Ghar Lapsi as a new innovative means of desalinating water, caters for a limited production of water and therefore can be used in remote areas where drinking water is not yet available.

The corporation this week announced the results of the tests carried out in Malta on the H20kW. The product water quality, resulting from this new system, were well below 50 parts per million of total dissolved solids.

The only major residual contaminant found was that of chlorides, which resulted from the chlorine used to treat the water. The chloride levels, however, were also at levels, far below the international guidelines for drinking water quality.

The vice-president of Ocean Power Corporation, Bob Campbell, said the product water quality from the certification tests carried out in Malta were excellent. All necessary requirements of the World Health Organisation, US Environmental Protection Agency and EU water quality standards have been met or even exceeded.

The certification tests on the H20kW were conducted by the laboratory division of the Institute of Water Technology of Malta, together with the analysis and assessment made by the Scottish firm Richard Morris and Associates.

Ocean Power Corporation approached Malta for these tests last year through the Water Services Corporation (WSC) and work started in October 1999.

The Chief Executive Officer of the WSC, Anton Riolo, said the tests were extremely successful and WSC stood to gain a lot from this contract with Ocean Power Corporation, especially in terms of expertise and exposure to new desalination technology.