Adelaide Desalination Plant
The Adelaide Desalination plant (ADP), formerly known as the Port Stanvac Desalination Plant, is a sea water reverse osmosis desalination plant located in Lonsdale, South Australia which has the capacity to provide the city of Adelaide with up to 50% of its drinking water needs.
| Desalination plant | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lonsdale, South Australia |
| Daily capacity | 300 megalitres per day, but has been operating (since 2012) at 10% of its capacity. |
| Annual capacity | 100 gigalitres per annum |
| Cost | A$1.83 billion |
| Energy generation offset | Renewable (TBA) |
| Technology | Reverse Osmosis |
| Percent of water supply | 50% of Adelaide |
| Completion date | December 2012 |
| Website | www.sawater.com.au |
In September 2007, South Australian Premier Mike Rann announced that the State Government would fund and build a desalination plant to ensure Adelaide's water supply against drought. The plant was financed and built by SA Water, a state-owned corporation.
The plant was initially planned to have a capacity of 50 gigalitres (GL) of water per year but was later doubled in capacity to 100 GL/year with the assistance of funding from the Australian Government. The expanded capacity represents around 50% of Adelaide's domestic water supply.
The project has engaged professional political lobbyists, including Michael O'Reilly.
The plant was completed on time and within the original budget ($1.83 billion).
Stage one of the plant commenced operations in October 2011, and stage two commenced in July 2012. The plant was officially opened on 26 March 2013.
The Adelaide Desalination Project is the largest infrastructure project that the State of South Australia has funded, owns, and has completed successfully.
Since 2012, the plant has been operating at 10% of its capacity to keep it functioning. In 2017, it produced 2% of the state's water supply.