Tuesday November 26, 2024
CleanTechnica —
Seawater desalination systems are gigantic, expensive, energy-sucking beasts that take up valuable space on seaside coasts. However, they are badly needed — and more of them are needed — in an era when freshwater resources are strained to the breaking point. The challenge is to get more facilities online without putting an unsustainable burden on energy systems and natural habitats, and a California startup has come up with a unique solution.
The seawater desalination industry has been improving its energy efficiency profile over the years, and renewable energy is opening up new opportunities for cutting carbon emissions. Cost cutting has also been a focus of attention.
Still, energy consumption looms large in the desalination field, as does the expense of building major new facilities. Exhibit A is the 11-acre, $1.4 billion, 50 million gallons-per-day desalination facility proposed for the California city of Huntington Beach. Aimed at alleviating chronic drought conditions in the region, the proposal was on the boards for 20 years before the California Coastal Commission finally ended the discussion in March of 2022.