Team Members
Pablo Daniel Taddei Arriola, Iuliana Bleanda-Mogosanu, David Carruthers, Desmond Cole
Affiliated Organizations
Sustainability without Borders (SWB), University of Sonora
Advisor
Jose Alfaro
Project Summary
With seed grant funds, the project team traveled to Tastiota, Mexico, during summer 2016 to look at the feasibility of implementing a small-scale Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) desalination plant to provide communities with potable water. The team also developed and tested a prototype at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The CSP desalination plant technology explored in this project is based on the Central Tower Technology, which is being developed by the University of Sonora. The northwestern region of Mexico in the state of Sonora, Hermosillo County is an ideal location to implement the small-scale CSP desalination plant. Hermosillo County lacks of fresh water availability, but has abundant solar radiation. Implementation of a CSP desalination plant here will alleviate water scarcity pressures in the region and serve as a renewable alternative to current water delivery methods.
After completing the educational prototype, achieving local political and community support, and finalizing a favorable economic analysis, the team is now seeking to build a CSP desalination plant in the community of Tastiota.