Solar-powered desalination plants have been a promising technology for a while, but their prohibitive cost has prevented them from being considered a solution in water-deprived, typically poorer parts of the world. Using the electrodialysis process, a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology just won the 2015 Desal Prize for coming up with a cost-effective, environmentally sustainable and energy efficient solution. The technology holds great promise for small farm irrigation in developing countries… and drought-ridden California.