A NOVEL PLAN to bring fresh water to regions in which there is a shortage is being developed in Sligo - a locale sufficiently rainswept itself not to be noted for any shortage of fresh water.

Sligo RTC is to develop a solar-powered desalination plant for use in countries where fresh water is in short supply. The project which utilises advanced ideas in thermodynamics and energy recovery, has attracted both private and public investment, including a grant of £30,000 from Forbairt.

Solar-powered desalination would prove especially useful in places such as Cyprus or the Canary Islands, where sea water is plentiful but fresh water is not. Sligo RTC is now set to be the first institution to develop a workable method - which would produce high-grade sea salt as a by-product of the process. The project team will be led by the Iranian Professor Hossein Valizadeh and Dr Brian McCann, assisted initially be two postgraduate research students.

Professor Valizadeh has done considerable research into solar power, including the development and patenting of a solar-powered cooker and a solar-powered fridge; a solar-powered cooling system developed at Sligo RTC is currently being considered by Avonmore Foods for international use. He has also established a campus company called Ecotherm in the college's business innovation centre.

McCann's speciality is water treatment, including the development of treatment units for use on water before and after desalination.

Once a prototype has been developed, probably within the next two years, the technology will go into production in the north-west.