In August 2016, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported that DEWA, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, had given an unnamed firm an advisory contract worth AED 16.3 million (US$4.4 million). It covered a planned reverse osmosis plant of 182,000 m³/day (40 MIGD) at the Jebel Ali power station, due by 2020. Jebel Ali already produced 636,000 m³/day (140 MIGD) from eight desalination units. Of the roughly 2.1 million m³/day Dubai desalinated, 6% came from reverse osmosis, and DEWA aimed to move away from thermal multi-stage flash.
The report showed Dubai beginning in 2016 to shift from thermal desalination to lower-energy reverse osmosis, linked to climate targets and expansion ahead of Expo 2020.