Each installation will include a mobile container equipped with a reverse osmosis water treatment system, solar panels and a water dispenser that will allow local residents to purchase water using their mobile phone. Each installation will be powered solely by renewable energy, without the need for “expensive battery storage or grid electricity”.

The 200 desalination systems will be capable of supplying 1,300 m3 of drinking water per day and more than one GWh (per year) of clean off-grid energy to power the desalination plants. The small desalination plants will inexorably push up the rate of access to drinking water in Kitui County affected by climate change, which is manifested by water stress. In this part of Kenya, many wells used for water supply contain salt and fluoride, making the water unsuitable for direct consumption.

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