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phantom power

(25,966 posts)
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 11:55 AM Sep 2012

California: Desalination Clears Hurdle

The San Diego County Water Authority announced a tentative agreement Thursday to buy all of the output of what will be the Western Hemisphere’s largest seawater desalination plant, clearing a major hurdle for construction. The plant in Carlsbad will produce 50 million gallons a day, enough to supply about 7 percent of the San Diego region in 2020. If the deal is approved by the water authority board, the developer, Poseidon Resources, would sell bonds to finance 82 percent of the project, estimated at $900 million. San Diego would pay $2,042 to $2,290 for an acre-foot of water, more than twice what it pays to buy water from outside the region.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/us/california-desalination-clears-hurdle.html
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California: Desalination Clears Hurdle (Original Post) phantom power Sep 2012 OP
Using fossil fuels to desalinate water is a spectacularly stupid idea. hunter Sep 2012 #1
tool monkeys... phantom power Sep 2012 #2
The stupidity is only exceeded by the waste. Starboard Tack Sep 2012 #3
. n/t CRH Sep 2012 #4
desalinisation seems like a great app for solar thermal phantom power Oct 2012 #5
Forward osmosis... hunter Oct 2012 #6
Gotta fill those swimming pools RobertEarl Oct 2012 #7

hunter

(38,264 posts)
1. Using fossil fuels to desalinate water is a spectacularly stupid idea.
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 02:07 PM
Sep 2012

When the intergalactic coroner files her report on Homo sapiens that will be one of the items on the autopsy report.

Starboard Tack

(11,181 posts)
3. The stupidity is only exceeded by the waste.
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 03:29 PM
Sep 2012

50 million gallons a day, which would amount to 30+ gallons/day/person. Yet that would only supply 7% of San Diego's needs.
That adds up to around 400 gallons/person/day. They've stolen the river water, they've stolen the Salton Sea, they've stolen from the aquifers beneath the deserts, now they want the ocean water. 50 million gallons a day of it. That takes a lot of fuel/electricity to produce and leaves behind a lot of salt.

BTW, I live on the ocean, not far from San Diego. I make drinking water from the ocean using solar power. 10 gallons a week for 2 people. We use sea water for dishes and fresh water for bathing and rinsing dishes and laundry, about 20 gallons a week.

phantom power

(25,966 posts)
5. desalinisation seems like a great app for solar thermal
Mon Oct 1, 2012, 01:45 PM
Oct 2012

The technology necessary to compensate for intermittancy is... a water tank.

 

RobertEarl

(13,685 posts)
7. Gotta fill those swimming pools
Mon Oct 1, 2012, 02:59 PM
Oct 2012

They charge the big users of water higher rates. Then subsistence users don't subsidize pool owners.

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