As part of WEG's strategy to supply solutions for key market segments, particularly now to Water Segment, the company has taken part in the Desalination Plant project for Atacama Region in Chile. This drinking water supply project was developed by Chilean sanitary company Empresa Concesionaria de Servicios Sanitarios S.A - ECONSSA with the objective of solving the water shortage in the region and counts on WEG solutions.

To ensure that water reaches the different supply points for the population, WEG has supplied W50 electric motors to be used in the lifting plants, that is, in the 4 pumping stations, which pump the drinking water from the desalination plant to Piedra Colgada at a distance of more than 60 km. The W50 motors were built for the most severe operating conditions, such as operation in marine and salty environments; their mechanical design not only optimizes features such as weight and length, but also incorporates durability and ease product maintenance in remote regions.

In addition to the electric motors for the lifting plants, WEG has also supplied W22, IE3 efficiency level motors for the desalination plant, offering energy savings and higher productivity, with excellent cost-benefit ratio. All electric motors for this project were manufactured with a special epoxy paint plan suitable for severe marine and salty environment as well as medium voltage panels and soft starters from SSW7000 line, which are intended to feed the high pressure pumps, one of the most critical and higher electricity-demanding processes on a desalination plant.

For WEG, this project stands for as an important reference in the Water Segment for Desalination Plants, where the company had the expertise to offer quality and efficiency solutions, providing the customer with reliability and major energy savings.

About the Project:

The Seawater Desalination Plant project was implemented due to the water contingency that the Atacama Region is going through and, as a consequence, respond to the urgent commitment to continuously supply quality drinking water for a population of more than 200,000 people.

The plant will be located in Punta Zorro sector, municipality of Caldera, and from there the water (taken from the sea) will be desalinated and pumped to the different consumption points for the population of Chañaral, Caldera, Copiapó and Tierra Amarilla, who are currently getting water from Copiapó river.