FINAL REPORT Evaluation of Seawater Desalination Projects ...

EVALUATION OF SEAWATER DESALINATION PROJECTS
PROPOSED FOR THE MONTEREY PENINSULA
deviations due to varying site conditions. This is also assuming that the same quality and
grade of materials are used for each project. There may, however, be some savings for a
larger capacity plant due to the economies of scale. Any present differences in the unit cost
of the desalination facilities appear to be due to the methodology used to prepare the cost
estimate or to differing assumptions on material selection.
The four projects have differing treated water capacities and are proposed for different
locations. These factors affect the length and diameter of the proposed treated water
pipelines.
The CWP and MBRSDP would be located within or adjacent to the MLPP. Both projects
could benefit from purchasing power directly from the power plant and not be subject to
power costs from the power grid. The reduced power rates are estimated to be on the order
of 40 percent and represent a considerable savings in power cost over the project life. The
SCDP would have to pay the going rate for power from the power grid for its facilities. The
SDV proposal assumes use of subsidized biodiesel for power.
Table 2 summarizes the four projects’ current cost status. To aid in comparison, land 42 and
pilot project costs have been omitted, and costs have been updated to 2007 cost levels and
refined by the B-E team as described in the table’s footnotes. Detailed MBRSDP and SDV
data subject to non-disclosure agreements are not shown.
Of particular note is the cost per acre-ft for the CWP Regional Project and the large
MBRSDP and SDV projects being within 10 percent of each other. Given some of the
unknown cost elements as described in this section, 10 percent represents a very small
difference. The CWP basic project’s per-acre-ft costs would be expected to be higher than
those of the CWP Regional Project alternative due to the diseconomy of small scale.
42 Land costs are omitted due to their very different handling by project proponents. Land and right-of-way
costs provided by proponents are included where available in Table 3, Table 6, and Table 7 for the CWP,
MBRSDP and SCDP, respectively. See discussion of MBRSDP land and right-of-way costs on p.5-9 through
5-11. No land or right of way costs for on-land SDV pumping and distribution facilities was provided.
Monterey Peninsula Water Management District 5-2