The first new energy powered desalination plant was commissioned on Zhaoshu Island of Sansha city in the end of 2016. The installation has been treating seawater to processed water ever since the infrastructure development is completed.

The plant was set up in Sansha City, a prefecture level city formed in 2012 to administer a number of islands and atolls in the South China Sea. Processed water used to be scarce there. Local fishermen recalled that the water was not even sufficient to supply daily routine including drinking, cooking, showering or washing clothes before the plant was introduced.

The plant, which is supported by solar power and wind power, is capable of treating 1,000 tonnes of seawater per day and 700 tonnes of processed water is directly drinkable. The electricity generated from the plant’s solar panels are also used for lighting during the night time, and the sewage is treated before reused on the trees and flowers. A complete recycling system is introduced to the islands in Sansha city together with the desalination plant.