DOHA - Qatar is toying with the idea of launching "Seawater Greenhouses" in its deserts; an innovative method to turn vast swathe of deserts in to arable lands. The country has already expressed its interests in funding a demonstration project.
Seawater Greenhouse is a new development that offers sustainable solution to the problem of providing water for agriculture in arid, coastal regions. They are supported by combined technologies that can transform patches of the desert from arid wastelands into lush expanse that produce a bounty of fruits and vegetables.
Qatar is among other GCC countries which has evinced its interest in funding the demonstration projects. "UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait are other countries in the region which are planning to turn its vast areas of arid lands into arable through the unique method", The Discovery magazine quoted Charlie Paton, the inventor of the Seawater Greenhouse as saying.
A team of architects and environmental engineers have already conducted a demo of the proposed projects in Oman and Abu Dhabi.
"The cost is not as astronomical as one would think. It is estimated at approximately $118m for a 20 hectare site of greenhouses and a 10MW concentrated power farm. Paton is working with Exploration Architecture, a company that worked on the world's largest greenhouse in England," the journal said.
The greenhouses work by using the solar farm to power seawater evaporators and then pump the damp, cool air through the greenhouse. This reduces the temperature by about 15 degree Celsius, compared to that outside.
The process uses seawater to cool and humidify the air that ventilates the greenhouse and sunlight to distil fresh water from seawater. This enables the year round cultivation of high value crops that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to grow in hot, rid regions. The crops sitting in this slightly steamy, humid condition can grow fantastically, experts say.
The Seawater Greenhouse solution has the potential to make a positive impact on the impending global water crisis. It may also become the lowest cost method of desalination and perhaps the only one that is truly sustainable, they say.
The 2006 "Global Desert Outlook" released by he UN had underpinned the need for the concerned countries to tap the immense potential of solar energy in deserts. The document had described deserts as `huge power houses enable to meet the demand of the whole world'. This document was the first thematic report prepared by the UN on deserts.
By Satish Kanady
© The Peninsula 2008
