Comments on: Could Massive Solar Powered Desalination Plants Help Cancel Out Rising Sea Levels?

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 02:17:00 +0000

Well, you certainly are the CSP expert.

Now, how about telling us the LCOE of CSP electricity.

Tell us about a few CSP plants, how long it took to build them, what their output is, and in what sorts of places they are installed.

How well would a CSP plant work in Buffalo or Seattle? How about in the California Central Valley where the tule fog can block the Sun for weeks?

By: Zer0Sum

Zer0Sum — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:20:00 +0000

The only reason it’s unlikely is because the entrenched interests are blocking it all the way and they have control of the various Govt’s and printing presses to do their dirty work. They would rather see perpetual war and suffering than actually make progress to a truly sustainable energy culture. However they are simply wasting their energy now that the remaining reserves of fossil fuel are energy negative.

There is no scientific or logistical reason why we couldn’t have Gigawatt CSP for every major city in the world within the next 2 – 5 years. It would be the equivalent of building a new skyscraper in each location. Its really not a very big commitment compared to other solutions and considering that we only need a workforce of a few thousand people for each location and existing technology and tools to make it happen it should be a no brainer as we can definitely manufacture the raw components and construct the facilities.

The key points that CSP has that none of the other solutions offer are that it is nearly 100% efficient, above ground, can be installed pretty much anywhere there is available land and can be manufactured on scale for very reasonable energy costs.

CSP can also be used much more efficiently than just collecting sunlight, boiling water and generating electricity. It can also be used for industrial scale smelting and heating up uranium or other high energy potential materials if we felt the need.

If combined with the other viable solutions for energy sustainability we could be living with very minimal fossil fuel use before the end of the decade. Given that we don;t have any choice in the matter of living without fossil fuels we are making ourselves look like compete idiots by not embracing CSP on a much larger scale.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 23:49:00 +0000

“CSP is the only real solution”

Come on. That’s over the top.

It’s highly unlikely we could get off fossil fuels in less than 20 years and that would take massive effort.

We need to start making a massive effort. We need to install all sorts of generation technology. There is no 100% solution for any one place.

By: Zer0Sum

Zer0Sum — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:50:00 +0000

CSP is the only real solution to get us to the scale we need to mitigate against the loss of fossil fuels. We only need a 2km/sq array to generate a Gigawatt of electricity supply. The actual cost in terms of dollars to build a facility on that scale is around the same as an ocean liner or large office building. We could build a couple of GW scale CSP generation stations for every major city in the world within the next two – 5 years and be completely energy independent if we had the political will.

When Obama says it will be a long hard road to sustainability he is defining the future that the entrenched fossil fuel industry wants rather than scientific reality of actually making it happen.

CSP can be part of a closed loop to provide all the energy and water supply that a coastal city requires. See http://solarphotonpower.com for an example.

By: Ronald Brak

Ronald Brak — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 06:48:00 +0000

Pumping straight sea water into the few low lying areas in Antartica is an option for combatting sea level rises, but not really a good one compared to simply reducing fossil fuel use. While it would be energetically cheap to flood the low lying Vestfold Hills area which is located near the coast, it would be like sticking our finger in a dike that’s going to pieces and has more holes than we have appendages.

By: Karl-Friedrich Lenz

Karl-Friedrich Lenz — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 03:14:00 +0000

Meanwhile, Sundrop Farms in Australia is already growing tomatoes in a greenhouse with ocean water desalinated by a small CSP installation. Try a Google search for Sundrop Farms.

By: Robert Emery

Robert Emery — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 00:27:00 +0000

Chemical desalinization and biological treatment of waste water are two entirely separate processes.

By: jburt56

jburt56 — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 17:57:00 +0000

Recharging aquifers could have some effect but we’re talking >10000 cubic miles of water.