Australia's largest scientific research agency has joined up with
nine major universities to research membranes to reduce energy costs in Reverse Osmosis plants, as well as lowering maintenance costs associated with materials sticking to the membranes.
- The world's largest desalination plant is the Jebel Ali Desalination Plant (Phase 2) in the United Arab Emirates. It is a dual-purpose facility that uses multi-stage flash distillation and is capable of producing 300 million cubic meters of water per year.
- The largest plant in the US is in Tampa Bay, Florida, which began desalinizing 25 million gallons of water per day in December 2007.
- World-wide, 13,080 desalination plants produce more than 12 billion gallons of water a day, according to the International Desalination Association.
- The Perth desalination plant is powered partially by renewable energy from the Emu Downs Wind Farm.
- The Sydney desalination plant will be powered entirely from renewable sources.
- The Gold Coast desalination plant of Queensland will be powered entirely by renewable sources.
- In January, 2008, Poseidon Resources Corp. won regulatory approval to build a $300 million desalination plant in Carlsbad, CA. The facility would be the largest in the Western Hemisphere, producing up to 50 million gallons a day, enough to supply about 100,000 homes. It will be produced at a cost at about 30% over the current cost of water in the area.
- According to a May, 2008 article in Forbes, Energy Recovery Inc has been desalinizing water for $0.46 per cubic meter (This is $1.74 per 1000 gallons, or ~$567 per acre-foot)
- A June 5, 2008 article in Globe and Mail reported that a Jordanian chemical engineering Ph.D. student at University of Ottawa has invented a new desalination method that is reported to be between 600 and 700% more efficient than current technology. According to the article, GE and the University of Michigan are also looking into a similar technology.
- The Southern Nevada Water Authority is considering desalination plants on the Pacific coast as opposed to a planned pipeline to move rural Nevada water to Las Vegas. It would cost about $1,000 per acre-foot, or $3.06 for 1,000 gallons.