MOSS LANDING, Calif. -- A new desal project could be hitting the Central Coast. The City of Salinas is moving forward with the idea.
While city leaders said it could help their bottom line, other regions on the Central Coast need a desal project to have a future water supply.
City Manager Ray Corpuz said the answer to Salinas' economic woes could come about fifteen miles away.
At the Moss Landing Power Plant site, DeepWater Desal wants to build a desalination facility to provide potable drinking water, as well as usable energy.
David Armanasco, who represents DeepWater Desal, said the project is bigger than other projects locally, because it could serve the entire Central Coast, not just one area.
The project would allow Salinas to sell energy at a low cost to potential high-tech businesses, and the businesses would save money on energy bills to the city.
"Forty-seven percent of the cost of desalinating water is power and, therefore, if you can drop the cost of power, you can drop the cost of desalinating, ultimately providing the consumer with lower-cost water," Armanasco said.
He said the idea is to make it a regional plant, so that other areas beyond Salinas could buy in, like the water-desperate Monterey Peninsula.
"That can help further reduce the cost of desalinated water to serve not only the Monterey Peninsula, but other areas that would need it and require it," he said.
The idea of a regional power plant isn't new to the county.
The Peninsula has been trying to find a solution to its water shortage since the state said it needed to reduce pumping from the Carmel River.
Armanasco said the big difference here is this project includes a water and power agreement that could benefit the whole region.
Corpuz and Armanasco said this agreement won't cost Salinas anything, yet.
They wouldn't put a price tag on how much the project could cost if it goes through.
The project could be built to supply 25,000 acre feet of potable drinking water per year.
