[amandell]

Solar desalination is a form of "distributed generation" - it bypasses the need for large scale transportation by generating (reusing) water locally. The source water can be the ocean if that is the local resource. Inland, the source water is irrigation drainage (water leftover after irrigation). In other locations the source water is brackish groundwater, wastewater, process water or any other local impaired water source that can be converted to freshwater using solar energy. In essence, desalination is a form of reuse - every user of water can be a re-user.

A good analog for this is rooftop solar, another form of distributed generation. Transporting electricity is bypassed by generating solar energy locally (i.e. at your home). Scale is achieved by having thousands of small generators instead of a small number of large power producers that distribute electricity over long distances.

Net metering takes this concept further by leveraging the existing grid to enhance distributed resources. Excess solar energy is distributed back to the grid - users become providers. The same is true for water - large water users (like farmers) who are connected to the water grid can reuse and generate excess water that is redistributed through the existing water grid.