Desalination can be done effectively with thermal cogeneration. It's still inefficient, but since it is using waste heat it's "free" energy so to speak. Saudi A

Desalination can be done effectively with thermal cogeneration. It's still inefficient, but since it is using waste heat it's "free" energy so to speak. Saudi Arabia has built such plants. The Soviet Union also built a fast reactor that was cooled with salt water, which was condensed and used as a freshwater supply [1]. Since ~80% of the world population lives on the coast, using seawater as coolant and capturing the condensate could represent a substantial source of freshwater. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BN-350_reactor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BN-350_reactor