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1. 3rd Business Conference “Desalination Latin America”
24, March, 2021
Miriam Brusilovsky
Technical Director- IDE Water Assets
Is desalination the
longed-for solution for the
severe drought in Chile?
IDE Technologies
Your WaterPartners

2. 3rd Business Conference “Desalination Latin America”
Agenda
• The Problem,
• Severe, Prolonged Drought
for agriculture. Chile Case
• The Technological Solution
• Seawater Desalination
• Possible Business Model
• Take or Pay Contracts
based on Private Innitiatives

3. 3rd Business Conference “Desalination Latin America”
The Problem - Severe, Prolonged Drought
3
 Chile is among the top ten agricultural exporters worldwide. Its agriculture industry is
responsible for 28% of Chile’s overall trade, 11% of total GDP, and 10% of the
country’s national work force
 Chilean agriculture is by far the largest consumer of water in the country,
consuming about 80% of the available water in the country
 However, during the last decade, Chile has experienced one of the longest, most
intense droughts in its history, severely affecting important productive areas of the
country and posing a complex problem to meet the demand of both the population
and the agriculture industry
 Today 76% of the country's surface is affected by drought, desertification and
degraded soil

4. 3rd Business Conference “Desalination Latin America”
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Traditional Agriculture Areas affected by drought
 Six of Chile’s regions have been defined as ‘agricultural
emergency’ areas.
Development of Desert Areas:
 Advantages for developing agriculture in Northern
Chile, as the Atacama region due to its attractive soil
and weather conditions, cheap and available land
 The implementation of agriculture in this regions will be
beneficial and will increase the value of the land.
Sources: https://dialogochino.net/30820-chiles-mega-drought-rolls-on/
Avocado field in a hillside - Source, El Mercurio
Potential Locations for Profitable Agriculture

5. 3rd Business Conference “Desalination Latin America”
The Solution – Seawater Desalination
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Hadera (Israel)
Capacity: 6076 l/s
Term: 25 Years, as of
2009
Jamnagar (India)
Capacity: 1944 l/s
Term: 2 Years, as
of 2017
Carlsbad (USA)
Capacity: 2361 l/s
Term: 20 Years,
as of 2015
Ashkelon (Israel)
Capacity: 4583 l/s
Term: 25 Years,
as of 2005
Santa Barbara (USA)
Capacity: 122 l/s
Term: 30 Years,
as of 2017
Sorek (Israel)
Capacity: 7222 l/s
Term: 6 Years, sold
in 2019
A well demonstrated Technology for the Municipal and Industry sectors
Israel Case
Desalinated Water provides 80% of the Total Domestic Consumption of the Country

6. 6
Energy Costs Water Costs
Crops Cost
 Chile is one of the main
avocado exporters
worldwide, exporting
~70% of its production
 Global demand is
projected to increase
 Crops’ prices continue to
rise
 High Demand at
relatively high prices can
absorb the additional
desalination water cost
The average price of
energy in Chile has
decreased from 100-
120 USD/MWh in 2017
to 50-60 USD/MWh
today
An additional
dramatically decrease
is expected due to the
future application of
innovative renewable
tetechnologies
 Desalinated water
Prices have decreased
due to the continues
improvement in
efficiency and
technology
 Take or pay contracts
for Medium Size Plants
are the proposed
business model
What Makes Desalination a Viable Solution for Agriculture?

7. 3rd Business Conference “Desalination Latin America”
Can It Be Done In Chile?
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 Despite the relatively higher cost of desalinated water, such price is reasonable,
affordable and sustainable considering the sale prices of high value crops, such as
avocado
Crop
Water
footprint
(L/kg)
Delta for
Desalinated
Water cost
(USD/kg)
Superficial
water cost
(USD/kg)
Water
Cost
(USD/Kg)
Crop sell
Price
(USD/kg)
Increase
Orange 112 0.0706 0.0112 0.0594 1.29 5%
Tomato 64.2 0.0829 0.0064 0.0340 1.54 2%
Avocado 283 0.1783 0.0283 0.15 4.72 3%
Values calculated at a SWRO Price of 0.63 USD/m3 (Water Foot Print, ODEPA)
Avocado, US market - USDA 2018
Sources: https://www.statista.com/statistics/709862/countries-destination-avocado-export-chile/;
https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9131683/chile-expects-to-surpass-the-210-000-tons-of-avocado-it-produced-last-year/;
https://fruitsfromchile.com/fruit/avocados/

8. 3rd Business Conference “Desalination Latin America”
Conclusions
 Agriculture is one of Chile’s most important industries,
with high water needs
 Central and Northern Chile suffer from a prolonged,
severe drought affecting one the country’s main activity
 Additional Water Costs Analysis should be performed to
validate the expected impact.
 Seawater desalination can be an affordable alternative
source of water for agricultural purposes, The technology
is well proven for the municipal and industry sectors and
it can be a viable and sustainable solution for meeting the
Chilean agriculture industry’s water needs
 A world leader in seawater desalination with vast
experience will be required for the development of
desalination plants that would provide the solution for the
acute water needs of the industry in the region, under a
business model that aligns the interests of all parties
involved

9. IDE – Your Water Partners
3rd Business Conference “Desalination Latin America” 9
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