Can Windy Skies Fill Water Taps?

GE and Texas Tech partnership harnesses wind to desalinate water.

Written by Cory Chandler

From parched desert plains to bustling urban centers, water is a commodity in increasingly short supply.

In many arid and populous regions – Texas, for example – the scramble for fresh water sources has commenced as demand surges and water tables drop.

“Water is a key issue,” says Andrew Swift, director of Texas Tech University’s Wind Science and Engineering Research Center. “Underground aquifers are being depleted as the population is growing.” 

Texas Tech University and General Electric’s Global Research Center have teamed up to create what could provide an affordable and abundant new supply of drinking water to meet future demand.

The partnership will focus on harnessing renewable energy, such as that generated by wind turbines, to power water desalination. Texas Tech will test a control unit that marries a desalination plant and wind turbine, directing the energy needed to purify the water.

This is no easy assignment, considering the variable nature of wind energy. Storing the excess created on windy days in a useable form is one of the keys to making the system viable. 

The benefits, however, would be numerous. The turbine would not only power the desalination plant, but would also provide the muscle needed to pump and transport the water – all while reducing the cost.

By slashing energy costs – a hefty portion of desalination’s price tag – wind driven water desalination systems could become more marketable.

“Up to 50 percent of the operating costs of desalination are derived from energy consumption,” says Minesh Shah, project leader, GE Global Research. “With the potential for large variability in energy costs due to fuel price volatility, desalination systems can have significant operational costs.”

The project will launch in 2007 using a small capacity wind turbine and desalination test bed located at Reese Technology Center.

Blog this research! On MIT's Technology Review Blog.

Visit the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center Web site.

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