Using the sun to power our desalinization plants

Solar desalinization might
look something like this.

S

olar power turns the sun’s energy into electricity. Desalination removes unwanted minerals from saltwater so it can be used for drinking or agriculture, ClimateProgress reports.

“These two technologies have typically been employed separately in the effort to live more sustainably and limit dependence on finite resources.

“Now in California, a company has found a way to merge the two with the aim of providing long-term relief to farmers suffering the impacts of the state’s devastating four-year drought.

“The implications are far-reaching, as agriculture accounts for 80 percent of water use in California and roughly 70 percent of water use globally.

“In California alone, there is an estimated one million acre-feet of irrigation drainage that could be treated and reused if solar desalination catches on.

“Conserving or recycling even a small share of this water can make a big difference,” Sandra Postel, director of the Global Water Policy Project and a Freshwater Fellow of the National Geographic Society, told ThinkProgress.”

Read the story - “Have You Heard Of Solar Desalination? If Not, You Will Soon”.