Saudi Arabia, located in one of the world’s most water-scarce regions, faces a growing population projected to rise from 35 million to 40.1 million by 2030, making water management one of the most critical aspects of its national policy. As water scarcity becomes an increasingly pressing issue, MENA countries, including Saudi Arabia, have turned to desalination technologies to secure the water resources necessary to sustain their populations.
Saudi Arabia is currently the world’s leading producer of drinking water through desalination. Since the 1950s, the country has relied on extracting seawater to meet its water needs. Today, its production capacity reaches 3.3 million m³ per day, supported by 27 desalination plants, including 12 MSF (Multi-Stage Flash), 7 MED (Multi-Effect Distillation), and 8 RO (Reverse Osmosis) facilities, all primarily powered by fossil fuels. Despite this impressive capacity, the country continues to face challenges related to sustainability, energy consumption, and environmental impact.
Indeed, despite the Saline Water Conversion Corporation setting a world record in 2021 for the lowest-energy desalination plant, using just 2.27 kWh per cubic meter of treated water, fossil fuels remain the primary energy source for desalination in Saudi Arabia. Reports indicate that the Kingdom consumes approximately 300,000 barrels of oil daily to sustain its desalination production, amounting to 20% of its overall oil production. The environmental consequences of this heavy reliance on fossil fuels are significant: for instance, one facility can generate an annual carbon footprint of approximately 358,898 t CO₂e, with an emission intensity of 1.79 kg CO₂e per cubic meter of water produced. To put this in perspective, a single plant’s emissions are roughly equivalent to the yearly output of 77,000 passenger cars or 430 round-trip flights between London and New York.
Beyond these environmental considerations, desalination also raises important human-rights and governance issues. Ensuring a sustainable water supply involves not only technical solutions but also respecting the right to water and a healthy environment for current and future generations. This requires transparency and access to information on water quality and the impacts of desalination projects, public participation in decision-making about plant locations and designs, and equitable distribution of water across different regions and social groups. Moreover, desalination affects broader human-security issues, including food security, local community resilience, and long-term sustainability.
Under Vision 2030 Saudi Arabia is striving to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels in desalination, increase the use of renewable energy, and improve the sustainability and efficiency of its water supply systems. A flagship initiative in this effort is the AlKhafji Desalination Plant, the world’s largest solar-powered water desalination project, which provides the region with a reliable water supply in an innovative and environmentally sustainable manner. Other projects have been considered, particularly in the nuclear sector. The advantages of nuclear desalination have been widely documented, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions, greater energy efficiency, the ability to produce large volumes of water reliably, and decreased dependence on fossil fuels, making it a promising option for sustainable water supply in water-scarce regions. Yet, despite initial government support for the introduction of nuclear desalination facilities, progress in this area has been minimal.
Ultimately, while Saudi Arabia has made significant strides in advancing desalination technologies, achieving a truly sustainable and equitable water future will require not only technological innovation but also stronger environmental governance, community engagement, and a steadfast commitment to human rights under the framework of Vision 2030. Despite pledges that the Kingdom will adhere to the “Three As” of water management, availability, accessibility, and affordability, it remains to be seen whether these commitments can be fully realized in practice.
