AFRICA'S growing need for fresh water and increasingly abundant and cheaper renewable energy sources together offer a growing opportunity for desalination, according to the founder and managing director of Terra Energy, a consulting firm specializing in market research, business development, and training in sustainable energy. "Desalination is an energy-intensive process and energy costs account for the majority of a plant's typical operating expenditures," said Mohamed Alhaj, noting that energy consumption translates to 44% of total water costs in more energy-intensive desalination options, such as Reverse Osmosis. However, the continent's vast renewable energy potential "could provide a significant source of cheap…