SOLAR-POWERED PLANT IN KENYA GIVES DRINKING WATER TO 35,000 PEOPLE A DAY
The non-governmental organisation GivePower has built its first solar water farm in Kenya, turning the region’s saltwater into clean and sustainable drinking water. The farm uses a filtrating system that desalinates the brackish liquid to produce enough water for 35,000 people every day.
35,000 people a day can now benefit from this fresh and clean water, dramatically improving the lives of many.
The farm is located in Kiunga, a small fishing community of about 3,500 people just a few miles south of the Somalian border. The village is situated along the coast of the Indian Ocean and the area is home to an important marine conservation reserve. Its proximity to the ocean makes it an ideal location for the GivePower‘s first solar water farm.
Drinking contaminated water can lead to debilitating waterborne illnesses and diseases such as cholera and dysentery.
According to the World Health Organization, 844 million people across the globe lack access to clean drinking water and among them are more than 300,000 children who die every year due to waterborne diseases. Two billion people currently live in water-scarce regions and as many as 3.5 billion could experience water scarcity by 2025.
Turning seawater into drinkable is a power-consuming and therefore expensive process. So, using solar energy for this process may be the long-term solution we've all been waiting for.
Powered by solar energy, the desalination systems are housed in 20-foot shipping containers. They can produce 50 kilowatts of energy and power of two water pumps. With this, they transform 75,000 liters of brackish and/or seawater into clean, drinkable water every day. At the cost of just $20 per person, the farm can provide 20 years of access to clean water.
GivePower’s solution has enabled more than 30,000 people a day to have access to clean water through their Kiunga Solar Water Farm project. It’s a huge step forward for humanity and solar energy usage.