Navajo Solar Desalination Demonstration Project

Date/Time: Tuesday, September 22 / 12:00-1:15 p.m.

 

Water scarcity and the impaired quality of many water resources have challenged development in the Southwest, and arid regions globally, throughout history. This is particularly true for small communities in rural areas, including many tribal lands, where the economic base and technological expertise are not sufficient to develop marginal water sources and to implement conventional water distribution and treatment options. Treatment of impaired water resources, such as naturally brackish groundwater, with renewable energy based advanced water treatment technology could greatly improve water quality and quantity and decrease this water constraint on economic growth and public health. 

 

The Navajo Nation (Nation) consists of a distributed population and development centers in remote regions of a federally recognized Indian reservation that is larger than many states in the eastern United States. Approximately 35% of the population lives without access to the electric grid and public water systems. To meet the needs of rural populations lacking access to conventional water and power resource, a prototype renewable energy and water treatment system was developed and is functioning remotely at Well site 5T-529, in a collaborative effort between the University of Arizona, Bureau of Reclamation and the Navajo Nation within the Leupp Chapter. This research site is being developed to explore water and energy scarcity solutions from a holistic viewpoint to address several areas of endeavor and research which are critical to broader, long-term sustainable deployment of distributed energy and clean water generation systems. 

 

Ardeth directs the UA Renewable Energy Network (UA-REN), an initiative to connect the public, industry, and government to the UA’s research and education in renewable energy. The goal is to support the expanded regional, national, and global use of abundant, clean, and economical solar-based renewable energy. Her work includes the development of a UA renewable energy policy program focusing on economic and policy development for innovation. She specializes in the design and implementation of strategies for the adoption of renewable energy, both in Arizona and nationally, through increased support for trans-disciplinary research and analysis of renewable energy systems that integrate and synchronize, from their initial stages, policy design and technology development. Her research also focuses on the effects of renewable energy on the environment using an interdisciplinary approach to test the feasibility of providing solar power as a sustainable energy source for water desalination and electricity generation with an initial pilot project on the Navajo Nation.