The International Desalination Association (IDA) has released details of the two desalination sessions it is organizing as a Support Partner for WEX Global – the Water and Energy Exchange in Madrid.

The event takes place during 25-27 February 2014. Its theme for this year is Managing Energy in a Water Constrained World, and the IDA-organized sessions reinforce this topic.

Session One, Desalination and Sustainable Development, will be led by Miguel Angel Sanz, director of development and innovation, Degrémont, and director and 2nd vice president of IDA. It will address:

· Energy needs assessment of desalination and the potential for utilizing renewable energy, primarily Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)
· Environmental implications of desalination and mitigations especially in fragile ecosystems such as the Gulf of Arabia
· Water availability and demand assessment, including implications of climate change impacts on both resources and demands
· Assessment of options to close MENA’s water gap, including scope of regional desalination needs.

Session Two, Desalination, will be led by Leon Awerbuch, president and CTO of Leading Edge Technologies and Dean of the IDA Desalination Academy. It will cover:

· Energy saving techniques to minimize environmental impacts: incorporating sustainability
· Current challenges and opportunities
· Cost-effectiveness – innovative means of cost-control
· Competition and innovation
· Experimental technologies and processes.

Now in its 8th year, WEX Global 2014 is an invitation-only format that will bring together individuals who are shaping the future of water and energy worldwide. It attracts a wide range of high-level executives, with both commercial and technical backgrounds, working in both the public and private sectors.

The conference program of internationally renowned expert speakers is combined with a schedule of pre-selected one to one meetings among delegates.