Looks like the project has been given a go-ahead and the plant should start operating in 2011. The proposal has been submitted since 1998 and it took 11 years to pass the legislature. Unbelivable.
In the meantime, I am going to direct my washing machine waste water to the backyard for irrigation.
I disagree with the article “Energy Down the Drain” from theoildrum.com. We know that we need lots of energy to turn salt water to drinking water, but solar energy is highly sustainable. The author tends to assume that crude oil is the only energy source. Environmentally, we need more space to install enough solar panels to create sufficient energy to do the job if we use solar. One major concern about desalination plant is how it dump the salt waste.
