Desalination « Leveraged Theta

Archive for the ‘Desalination’ Category

Don’t Take My Word For It

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

In John Mauldin’s most recent letter, he had these wise words (among others) to offer…

I queried several venture capitalists, who see literally thousands and thousands of business proposals. While lots of people are working on it, they are aware of nothing on the near horizon. Water may be my #1 concern about the future. It is an intractable problem and one that must be solved. There is Microsoft- or Google-type wealth awaiting the team that creates an inexpensive way to purify water. Water management will be a major issue in the future. There are those who think we will go to war over oil or energy in the future. I rather doubt it. Water rights are going to be the issue that will divide nations and peoples unless we can find new technologies to create cheap supplies of fresh water and move it to where it is needed.

Posted in Desalination, Economics, Future, Water | Comments

Which is cooler Bahrain or Dubai?

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

Doesn’t matter, both are uber cool stories to me.

Below, is a desal plant, in Bahrain. It produces 60 Million Gallons of H2O per day. See, Bahrain, was not as cursed by the dutch disease as Dubai is. That’s why, this plant, is extra cool in my eyes.

AlHidd

Photo curtousy of Sidem.

Posted in Desalination | Comments

Pissed Farmers

Friday, April 24th, 2009

While 1500 farmers are offing themselves…California farmers are protesting.

PissedFarmers

I’d love to sit down with one of these California farmers, and say something like “What exactly do you expect Arnold to do, about the environment you chose to farm in? What exactly do you expect Arnold to do, about too many people living in an area that can’t sustain anymore growth? What exactly do you expect Arnold to do with a collapsed budget, peaky state, and energy costs rising? Is it maybe time, to move your farm, to where there is water rather than move the water to you? Yah, I realize, the mouths will have to follow the farm, sooner or later they’ll get the idea. Promise, energy prices will see to it.”

Tags: Water
Posted in Desalination, Economics | Comments

Developers & Desal

Monday, June 23rd, 2008

If you think I’m making up the problem of water scarcity, or you think it’s a problem for places far far away, or it’s just another hippy trend that isn’t real – talk to the developers in California who have piles of wood stacked up that they can’t turn into houses because the state won’t approve “will-serve” letters. In other words, the state can’t promise they will serve fresh water. Trust me, the state has no motive to stop economic growth like this.

Desalination is the process by which most of the world will likely turn to, as they need fresh water. Not too many investments open to the retail investor, yet. But eyes are open, and ideas are rampant.

I already own Hyflux. And I’ll likely buy a little ERII if I can get it for anywhere near $6 upon the ipo.

But thinking outside the box here, I’d like to own the names selling the membranes, and doing the chlorination & dechlorination, or pH neutralization. My favorite idea on how to invest in desal is buy the guys handelling/channeling the brine. The brine is the salt the facilities need to deal with. Usually it means dumping it back in the ocean, which, on a conservation of mass basis looks okay, but studies have shown clouds of shrimp dieing and discoloration of beaches. Of course, less unique, you could own the names selling oil-less pumps. That seems easy.

Check out this facility in Cypress: