🚀 go-pugleaf

"The Enlightenment" wrote
in <DW7ed.35486$5O5.25878@news-server.bigpond.net.au>:

----snip----

> I have had a great interest in desalination for a long time. I know
> it takes about 8-10kw.hr / cubic meter to desalinate water by reverse
> osmosis and about 4kw.hr using multistage flash distilation. The
> economies of reverse osmosis often win out becuase the frequent
> decalcination efforts required for the distilation type plants
> is not needed.

The solution to that is to design self-cleaning boilers. When the sun's
input falls below a productive level, the cleaning system comes on.

Meanwhile, and through the night, the water that was pumped into the dam
supplies hydro power to the grid.

> For energy the cheapest renewable resource available is wind power.

That remains to be seen. For reliable large-scale energy production,
a great many units need to be placed at windy sites distributed over
wide areas. Each unit has its own running and maintenance costs, and
the more there are and the more widely they're distributed, the more
crews are required.

Compare that with a solar furnace, which can be built anywhere the
sun shines, can be as large as desired, and can supply both power
and distilled water.

Both systems require a method of energy storage. The obvious choice
for a solar furnace plant is hydro power because of its convenience
and flexibility, but it would require complex piping for windfarm
use. The question arises: what sort of storage *could* be effective
with wind farms?

----snip----

Ned
-- 
True Blue FAQ: <slrncnbrao.ni0.ned@arthur.valhalla.oz>
Public key:  http://pgp.mit.edu/   http://www.keyserver.net/en/
Fingerprint: D17C FDD5 BBA8 8687 42E3  C8F2 C9FB 0314 E17A 0CD7