IDA convenes first meeting of global energy task force during international water summit

The meeting will be held on the afternoon of January 15 at the Capital Gate Hyatt in Abu Dhabi.

The agenda for the Task Force's meeting is to create a framework that will encourage and promote strategies to further enhance energy efficiency in desalination processes.

As a result of the meeting, the Task Force will focus on establishing existing energy requirements, outlining specific targets for each process, and supporting and building on existing initiatives by developing guidelines for energy reduction.

The Task Force will also encourage members of the desalination industry to develop pilot and demonstration plants designed to meet the stated targets.

The Task Force comprises a network of experts from around the world, representing utilities (end-users), suppliers, consultants, research & development institutions and academia, as well as IDA's Technical Programmes Committee.

The Task Force is composed of the following members:
Mr. Ahmed Al Mudaiheem, Consultant and Director, IDA.
Eng. Zamzam Al Rakaf, Deputy Chief Engineer, Director of Design in Desalination Projects, Ministry of Electricity & Water, State of Kuwait, and Director, IDA.
Mr. Michel Canet, Executive Vice President of Major Projects Group, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, and Treasurer/Director, IDA.
Eng Houmood El Anizi, Kuwait.
Mr. Chip Harris, Chief Technical Officer, Aqualyng Holding A S.
Mr. KHOO Teng Chye, Executive Director of the Centre for Liveable Cities, Ministry of National Development, Singapore, and Director, IDA.
Mr. Chew Men Leong, Chief Executive PUB of Singapore.
Prof. John H. Lienhard V, Executive Officer of the Center for Clean Energy and Water at MIT and KFUPM.
Mr. Neil Palmer, Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination (NCED) at Murdoch University in Western Australia, and Director, IDA.
Mr. Miguel Angel Sanz, Director Development & Innovation - B.L. Iberia, Africa & Latin America, Degrémont, and Director, IDA.
Dr. Andrew Shapiro, Principal Engineer, GE Global Research.
Prof. Dr. Gary Amy, Director Desalination and Water Reuse Center, KAUST.
Dr. Richard Stover, Executive Vice President, Desalitech, Ltd., and Director, IDA.

In addition to the Task Force members, IDA has invited to the meeting a number of observers who can contribute to the discussion. The Task Force was launched in early 2012 at the 6th World Water Forum held in Marseille, where reception for this programme exceeded expectations, according to Leon Awerbuch, Chairman of IDA's Energy Task Force Steering Committee.

"We were greeted with a standing room only audience and participation by many young people interested in strategies to enhance energy efficiency. The result was a very exciting dialog between the audience and panelists. We look forward to this opportunity to engage leading industry representatives and other key stakeholders in a continuation of this important conversation, which builds on the success of the success of the desalination industry in achieving more than a 50% reduction in energy consumption over the past two decades," he noted.