[dark_star]

This doesn't address the ecosystem problems and costs imposed by climate change - but for crops and drinking water, it looks like fresh water created by solar powered desalinization is going to be very inexpensive in the future. [1][2] This is mainly due to the fact that solar power will be almost free in the near future.[3]

1. https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2024/01/09/a-vision-for-t...

2. https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2022/11/20/we-need-more-w...

3. https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2024/11/09/solar-and-batt...

[travisporter]

As a close follower of Casey, I have become disillusioned with the lack of progress in this space. Certainly solar is cheaper but his own company is very slow to scale up and ignores the logistical challenges of these huge endeavors. The salton sea lithium project should be a slam dunk but is very slow because building big things takes time.

Also, not everything he says is gospel

[amandell]

Projects at that scale will never get built - it doesn't matter if it is solar desalination. High speed rail in CA is a perfect analog - way too many ways (regulatory + environmental) to kill projects of this size. The only way something happens at the salton sea is with state mandate to implement it.

[Mountain_Skies]

So, too cheap to meter?

[nine_k]

Too cheap to meter, as long as you have no SLA. Much like solar-generated heat is "too cheap to meter" in traditional greenhouses.

Desalination is not sensitive to input power fluctuations, as long as you have a large enough reservoir to even out the spikes. The natural desalination cycle, with evaporation of ocean water, clouds, mountains, and rivers, already worrks like that, but probably a more localized setup with electric pumps and reverse-osmosis membranes could bring freshwater more directly where humans need it.

[buckle8017]

Unfortunately the massive reservoirs tend to be quite far away from the salt water.

For desalinization plants to operate with the sun entirely new massive fresh water reservoirs would need to be constructed.

[toomuchtodo]

Reservoir, solar (floating on the reservoir + ground mount nearby), cheap batteries. Would allow for balancing desal generation with grid needs.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/03/12/floating-pv-for-desal...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98hZI5CfQXU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzXJJFBEX-g

https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy24osti/87698.pdf

[zweifuss]

Certainly not. But old solar cells that still have a certain lifespan can be obtained almost free of charge by anyone who wants them.

[zdragnar]

Labor of installation is anywhere from 5 to 25% of the cost, depending on location. Add in any missing parts (wiring, inverters) and permitting costs, and you may find yourself just as well off buying new panels for the added efficiency.

You'll either need less labor and materials, or get more output from the same land space, depending on your needs.

Reusing old cells makes sense in some applications, but for almost anything commercial or not a handyman special, I don't know that the numbers work out very well in their favor.