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Neom to Adopt Unique ‘Solar Dome’ Desalination Plant

Neom to Adopt Unique ‘Solar Dome’ Desalination Plant
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Neom to Adopt Unique ‘Solar Dome’ Desalination Plant

Neom to Adopt Unique ‘Solar Dome’ Desalination Plant

The Neom smart-city project will use cutting-edge solar technology to power a desalination plant that produces clean, low-cost, environmentally friendly freshwater. The decision aims to enhance the megacity’s position as a new global tourism destination, a center of innovation and environmental conservation, and as an accelerator of human progress.

Neom signed an agreement with UK business Solar Water Limited to build a desalination plant in the northwest of the Kingdom that uses the newly developed “solar dome” technology. It is hoped that thef first-of-its-kind, completely sustainable and carbon-neutral facility will shape the future of desalination in Neom, the Kingdom and throughout the world.

Work on the solar dome project will begin in February and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The technology it employs will significantly reduce the environmental impact of the desalination process by producing less saline solution, a byproduct that can harm natural ecosystems.

The pioneering and innovative approach from Solar Water Limited, which was developed at Cranfield University in the UK, represents the first widespread use of concentrated solar power technology in desalination, Neom said.

Seawater is pumped into a hydrological solar dome made of glass and steel, where it is heated and evaporated to remove the salt. The process can continue at night thanks to the storage of solar energy generated throughout the day. The technology helps to prevent any damage to marine life as it does not dump saline solution created by the process back into the sea.

“Neom’s adoption of the experimental version of this program supports the sustainability goals set by the Ministry in the Kingdom, as shown in the National Water Strategy 2030, and is fully in line with the sustainable-development goals set by the United Nations,” said Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli.

Neom CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr said that the megacity project has easy access to abundant amounts of seawater and completely renewable energy resources, which puts it in the ideal position to produce low-cost and sustainable fresh water using solar-powered desalination.

He added that the adoption of this type of technology reflects Neom’s commitment to supporting innovation, protecting the environment and preserving its purity to provide a comfortable and exceptional life. It also raises the possibility of using the technology in other parts of Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture.

David Reavley, the CEO of Solar Water Ltd, said: “Currently, thousands of desalination plants around the world rely heavily on burning fossil fuels for water extraction, and we have the technology to desalinate water in a way that is completely sustainable and 100 percent carbon neutral."

“We are happy to partner with Neom, which has a strong vision of what the new future looks like in harmony and integration with nature.”

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Russia Readies for ‘Decades’ under Western Sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia, 16 August 2024. EPA/ALEKSEY BABUSHKIN/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia, 16 August 2024. EPA/ALEKSEY BABUSHKIN/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN
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Russia Readies for ‘Decades’ under Western Sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia, 16 August 2024. EPA/ALEKSEY BABUSHKIN/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia, 16 August 2024. EPA/ALEKSEY BABUSHKIN/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN

Economic sanctions imposed by the West on Russia will remain in place for decades, even if there is a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, a senior Russian foreign ministry official said on Friday.
Russia became the most sanctioned country by the West after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, surpassing Iran and North Korea. Despite the pressure, Russia's economy grew by 4.7% in the first half of this year.
"This is a story for decades to come. Whatever the developments and results of a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, it is, in fact, only a pretext," said Dmitry Birichevsky, head of the economic cooperation department at the foreign ministry.
"The sanctions were first introduced much earlier. Their ultimate goal is unfair competition," he told a discussion forum in Moscow, according to Reuters.
The panel, entitled "Sanctions against Russia - forward into infinity?" was part of a wider debate in Russian politics and business about whether Moscow should work towards an easing of sanctions or accept them as a long-term reality and learn to work around them.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the removal of all sanctions imposed on Russia would be among his conditions for peace. Many Russian businessmen are privately unhappy about the sanctions but fear losing their wealth if they antagonize Putin or top military and intelligence officials during wartime.
Last week, billionaire Oleg Deripaska faced a backlash from hawks after making a rare anti-war statement, describing the conflict as "mad" and calling for a ceasefire without preconditions.
Birichevsky said sanctions had some benefits, forcing Russia to restructure its economy and produce more value-added goods that were previously imported from Western countries.
"In the 1990s, we thought that if we had oil and gas, we could buy everything else abroad. Now we cannot buy that," he said.
He warned that the "sanctions spiral" would continue to inflict more pain, as Western regulators target sectors that are not yet sanctioned.
Western officials have exerted pressure on Russia's trade partners, threatening to cut off their access to Western markets if they cooperated with Russia, Birichevsky added.
He said Moscow was sharing strategies with other sanctioned countries such as Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela, aiming to create an international "anti-sanction" coalition to jointly resist Western pressure.