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AMMAN--Water scarce Jordan approved Monday a $980 million project to desalinate water from the Red Sea for drinking water needs, which at the same time would help to replenish the retreating Dead Sea.  The desalination plant will have a capacity of 100 million cubic meters a year in Wadi Araba, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour told reporters, and a pipeline from the plant will discharge the brine into the Dead Sea.

Jordan is one of the world's most water-poor nations, suffering chronic drinking water shortages. And the Dead Sea is shrinking around one meter every year amid drought, and pumping for mineral extraction and agricultural needs.

"The Jordanian government has decided to go ahead with the project after conducting thorough geological, geographical, environmental and economic studies," Mr. Ensour said.

Jordan would also swap desalinated water produced by the project with drinking water produced by Israel from Lake Tiberias--known as Sea of Galilee--north of the Jewish state.  Mr. Ensour said that Jordan would buy drinking water from Israel produced from Tiberias and sell Israel instead desalinated water produced from the new project in the south in order that the kingdom reduces costs of transporting water from the south to north.

The project will be financed partially by the government, while between $300 million and $400 million would be secured from grants, the Minister of Water and Irrigation Hazem Nasser said in a statement Sunday following a cabinet meeting.  Last month Jordan inaugurated the $1 billion water supply project transporting around 120,000 cubic meters a day from the Disi aquifer in southern Jordan to the capital Amman and nearby provinces.

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces the August 16 release of the new SENCOM platform product series for the digital measurement of pH and ORP. This will join an existing lineup of quality pH/ORP solutions that includes the FLXA21 two-wire* pH/ORP-transmitter. With the release of the SENCOM platform products, Yokogawa will bring pH and ORP measurement into the digital era.

The SENCOM platform initially consists of a SENCOM module, the FU20F pH/ORP SENCOM sensor, a SENCOM cable, and the SPS24 SENCOM PC software. The installation of a SENCOM module in an FLXA21 transmitter will give it the powerful digital signal processing capabilities required to work together with the new SENCOM sensors.

Like its predecessor, the FU20F pH/ORP SENCOM sensor is a general purpose sensor that is suitable for a wide range of applications. The FU20F can store digital data and be calibrated using the SPS24 SENCOM PC software and/or the FLXA21. With these SENCOM platform products, our customers will be able to reduce the amount of maintenance work that needs to be performed on-site, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs.

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State-owned Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has unveiled plans for a 1200 megawatt (MW) clean coal power plant and is seeking bidders to build what would be the first such project of its kind in the Gulf Arab region.  The utility has issued a request for tenders for the plant, which will be built in two phases to generate 600 MW each when completed in 2020 and 2021 respectively, a statement from DEWA said on Tuesday.

When fully operational, the plant will contribute 12 percent of projected output under Dubai's 2030 Integrated Energy Strategy, the statement added.  Given the Gulf's abundant oil and gas reserves, most power generation in the region is achieved through burning one of the two. However, Gulf nations are looking to diversify their energy mix to preserve such reserves for export, which generate significant sums for their economies.

Under Dubai's 2030 strategy, it aims to secure 71 percent of its energy from natural gas but also 12 percent each from coal and nuclear, with 5 percent from solar power.  The scheme is a revision of the Hassyan independent water and power project which the Dubai government cancelled last April, according to Project Finance International, a Thomson Reuters unit.

That plant, which was earmarked to cost $1.3 billion, would have been gas-powered and generated 1600 MW of power. A consortium including Abu Dhabi National Energy Co , Japan's Marubeni Corp and South Korea's SK E&S Co Ltd  said it had submitted the lowest bid to build the plant before it was cancelled. DEWA was currently looking to appoint advisers to the new coal-powered scheme, PFI added.

Technip, in consortium with its construction partner Performance Contractors Inc., was awarded a contract by the National Cooperative Refinery Association (NCRA(1)). This contract covers supply of Technip’s proprietary reforming technology, as well as EPCI(2) of the No. 2 hydrogen plant equipment at NCRA’s refinery in McPherson, Kansas. The 40 million standard cubic feet per day (45 thousand normal cubic meters per hour) plant is part of an expansion project which will allow NCRA to upgrade this refinery.

The project will utilize Technip's high efficiency top-fired steam reformer to produce high purity hydrogen and export steam and the latest nitrogen oxide reduction technology to ensure minimum emissions. The contract covers engineering, fabrication, supply, installation, pre-commissioning and start-up assistance.

Technip’s operating center in Claremont, California, will execute the project, which is scheduled for completion by the first semester of 2015.

Moxa, an innovative leader in industrial automation, recently released an updated reference guide for wireless networks. The guidebook provides general wireless knowledge ranging from wireless landscapes (WLAN, WWAN, and WPAN basics), radio system concepts, antenna/cable/connector selection, and a brief introduction to industrial wireless environments.

“Many of our customers are looking to wireless technology for faster network deployments and mobile flexibility. This guidebook is intended to offer our customers a source of reference to help them decide which wireless technology and equipment types are best-suited for their application, and the important factors to pay attention to when building a wireless network,” stated Paul Hsu, senior product manager at Moxa Inc.

The guidebook also provides useful information on how environmental threats can impact wireless communication and compromise wireless network reliability.

Download Moxa Industrial Wireless Reference Guide

Red Lion Controls, the global experts in communication, monitoring and control for industrial automation and networking, today announced the release of its newest generation of Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) – the Graphite™ series of advanced operator interface panels. With all cast-aluminum construction, the Graphite series provides the industry’s first rugged HMI solution to combine a wide range of versatile plug-in modules with protocol conversion, data logging and web-based monitoring and control.

Red Lion’s Graphite series allows customers to easily connect, monitor and control their process in industries that include manufacturing, oil and gas, and water/wastewater. The series’ range of plug-in modules enables customers to easily create a solution for today, with an option to expand to meet changing business requirements. Further, organizations will realize a reduction in development and commissioning times over traditional systems that use an HMI paired with separate I/O, PLCs and other controllers.

“We have used just about everyone’s HMIs, and Graphite is by far the best in terms of appearance and functionality,” said Pierre de Giorgio, president at BlueBay Automation. “It is the most feature-rich HMI that we have ever used, the graphics and resolution are amazing, and with Red Lion’s Crimson 3.0 software, the move to Graphite is seamless.”

Graphite HMIs are available in eight different models, in sizes ranging from 7” to 15”, with sleek bezels that provide a relatively large display given their overall dimension. Both the 7” and 10” HMIs are available as sunlight visible models. Combined with Graphite’s rugged packaging, these models are ideal for harsh outdoor environments.

Offering a built-in web server, Graphite HMIs enable users to monitor and control their application via PCs, tablets or smartphones. SMS text-messaging and email alerts provide early warning of process issues, which helps to avoid costly downtime. In addition, its built-in protocol converter allows programmers to select 13 or more simultaneous protocols from a list of over 250 to seamlessly integrate disparate devices such as PLCs, drives, barcode readers and panel meters.

ICONICS, the Microsoft® Sustainability Partner of the Year and provider of Web-enabled, industrial and building automation software solutions, announces their 2013 Worldwide Customer Summit to be held from September 23 through 26, 2013 in Newport, Rhode Island. The title for this year’s event is “Get Connected – Visualize, Analyze, Mobilize” and will focus on the latest breakthroughs in real-time automation, analytics and mobile software technologies.

The ICONICS 2013 Worldwide Customer Summit promises to connect automation software users, executives, design consultants, OEMs, systems integrators and channel partners together for this valuable, informative event in a historic, scenic location. Attendees will have the opportunity to network, share best practices, and gain insight into improving efficiency, productivity, quality and sustainability.

At this year’s summit, ICONICS will showcase innovative customer case studies that highlight the latest technology trends in visualization, business intelligence and analytics, big data historians, and mobile devices. Those who attend will also gain valuable insight and connect with ICONICS’ GENESIS64™, MobileHMI™, Hyper Historian™ and the new AnalytiX® products on a whole new level.

“This year’s conference connects the world of industrial automation, manufacturing and building automation with breakthrough technologies that are going to change the way we do business,” states Russ Agrusa, ICONICS President and CEO. “From advances in natural user interfaces to delivering 3D-rich dashboards on smart mobile devices, ICONICS connects you with the future of automation software”.

The 2013 Worldwide Customer Summit will feature keynote presentations from Microsoft executives, the OPC Foundation, industry analysts from ARC Advisory Group, and other special guests. Darrell Smith, Director of Facilities and Energy at Microsoft, will discuss his Energy-Smart Buildings program, which is achieving a 5% energy reduction within Microsoft’s Small City at its 15 million square foot headquarters campus in Redmond, Washington. Stephen Rose, Senior Product Marketing Manager with the Windows Product division for Microsoft, will enlighten us on the strategic direction of Microsoft technology and how it relates to smart devices, the cloud and automation.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to connect with our premier technology partners who will be demonstrating and presenting in our Partner Expo. Sponsors will engage with ICONICS’ channel partners and end users, plus network with key global decision makers from Fortune 500 companies throughout the Summit. This is also an excellent opportunity to connect with industry peers and experts.

Get Connected – Visualize, Analyze, Mobilize is the must-attend event of the year, where attendees will see presentations from industry technical experts and innovative companies who are applying ICONICS solutions in groundbreaking ways to achieve greater ROI, productivity and operational excellence. Breakout sessions will deliver insight into realizing efficiency, productivity and sustainability in the industries represented by ICONICS customers, including Energy Management, Renewable Energy and Smart Grid, Plant Management and OEE, Facility Management, Water and Wastewater Management, Oil and Gas, Pharmaceuticals and more.

To open this press release as a PDF, please click HERE.

Abu Dhabi Gas Development Co (Al Hosn Gas) has awarded Ametek Process Instruments an estimated $4.6m contract to supply UV process gas analysers for the Sulphur Recovery Units (SRU) and Tail Gas Treating Units (TGTU) at its Shah gas field in Abu Dhabi. Upon completion, the SRU-TGTU complex is expected to be the largest in the world. Each of the SRU's four processing trains is so large that it will require twin reaction furnaces with three tail gas analysers per train, making the project the largest single order for tail gas analyzers ever.