In March 2021, the Ryukyu Shimpo reported that the resort hotel Hoshinoya Taketomi-jima on Taketomi Island was producing its own drinking water from seawater. The solar-powered system with battery and heat pump could desalinate up to 60 tons of water a day and supply water, hot water and power even in a disaster. The hotel stopped providing bottled mineral water in guest rooms, saving about 50,000 plastic bottles a year. Energy from the process served temperature control and air conditioning, with an expected CO2 reduction of 35 tons a year.
The report shows small-scale desalination on an island otherwise supplied with water from Ishigaki: the system combined plastic avoidance, energy savings and preparedness, as the hotel also became an evacuation centre.
Source: [Ryukyu Shimpo](http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2021/03/23/33489/)