I actually think that desalination and solar are a good pairing but > without any environmental externalities doesn't sound quite right to me. In particular

I actually think that desalination and solar are a good pairing but > without any environmental externalities doesn't sound quite right to me. In particular I think there are reasonable concerns regarding lifetime energy and environmental costs of solar panels, mining of and disposal (or recycling) of the rare materials used in the panels, etc. TANSTAFL