4 ms·

Desalination is cheap though. It's just never really been needed at scale in the UK because of rainfall. Maybe it's time to reassess

bee_rider 1y ago
I’ve always thought desalination would make a nice shiftable load to incentivize renewable build-out.
foobarbecue 1y ago
Not really. https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/how-much-energy-does-desalinisation https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/how-much-energy-do...
- arkensaw 1y ago
  Ok, its maybe more expensive than I realised according to that source, but I would argue that comparing it to something like charging EVs or running a fridge is not a fair comparison. If you desalinate 1000 litres of water it's not the same as a household using 1000 litres of water. Not exactly. Once water is in a municipal system it's cleaned and reused many many times. Desalination could overcome water shortages by topping up water in a system, in times of drought, rather than just waiting for rain.
  - foobarbecue 1y ago
    Hm, the only reuse of municipal water I know is using treated sewer water for watering plants. I don't think any US cities recycle water back into a potable water system -- have you heard of that happening anywhere? (I don't remember how this relates to the original argument) Edit: oh if you meant "data center" by "municipal" then I guess! I thought you meant city drinking water
    - arkensaw 1y ago
      Ok I had heard of it happening in the UK but now I can't find any evidence of such, apart from a just approved scheme to treat wastewater and pump it into the Thames upstream, which is then used to source drinking water in London. So in a way, its going to happen in London, even if it hadn't already been, as I had believed. But I would hope datacentres could use recycled or desalinated water for cooling rather than using drinking water.
dylan604 1y ago
Desalination is energy expensive, and results in a pretty nasty waste. Removing the salt loses the benefit of lower temperatures.
jncfhnb 1y ago
Desalination is expensive

bee_rider 1y ago

I’ve always thought desalination would make a nice shiftable load to incentivize renewable build-out.

foobarbecue 1y ago

Not really. https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/how-much-energy-does-desalinisation https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/how-much-energy-do...

arkensaw 1y ago
Ok, its maybe more expensive than I realised according to that source, but I would argue that comparing it to something like charging EVs or running a fridge is not a fair comparison. If you desalinate 1000 litres of water it's not the same as a household using 1000 litres of water. Not exactly. Once water is in a municipal system it's cleaned and reused many many times. Desalination could overcome water shortages by topping up water in a system, in times of drought, rather than just waiting for rain.
- foobarbecue 1y ago
  Hm, the only reuse of municipal water I know is using treated sewer water for watering plants. I don't think any US cities recycle water back into a potable water system -- have you heard of that happening anywhere? (I don't remember how this relates to the original argument) Edit: oh if you meant "data center" by "municipal" then I guess! I thought you meant city drinking water
  - arkensaw 1y ago
    Ok I had heard of it happening in the UK but now I can't find any evidence of such, apart from a just approved scheme to treat wastewater and pump it into the Thames upstream, which is then used to source drinking water in London. So in a way, its going to happen in London, even if it hadn't already been, as I had believed. But I would hope datacentres could use recycled or desalinated water for cooling rather than using drinking water.

dylan604 1y ago

Desalination is energy expensive, and results in a pretty nasty waste. Removing the salt loses the benefit of lower temperatures.

jncfhnb 1y ago

Desalination is expensive