Desertec: Powering Europe from the Sahara

Renewable energy is the future of power. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. However finding a sustainable form of energy that can power the EU to the same level at fossil fuels is, at current, an enormous task. One company though believes they have found the solution.

The Desertec Industrial Initiative is a US$550 billion plan to develop "a reliable, sustainable and climate-friendly energy supply" in North Africa's Sahara desert capable of providing the entire MENA region with energy as well as the EU.

Of course the idea of such a massive project sounds a bit like science-fiction and when the project was first announced in July 2009, it was dismissed as being "unrealistic" and even exploitative.

However Desertec have stated that the project has the ability to provide 15 percent of Europe's electricity by 2050, or earlier via power lines stretching across the desert and Mediterranean Sea, and that has made many people sit up and listen.

Concentrated solar power

The concept behind Desertec is using concentrated solar power (CSP) that would allow generators to run at night, thus enabling production of electricity "on demand", like in conventional power stations. While this is not a new concept, it has never been done on the scale that Desertc proposes.

The idea is that CSP systems, photovoltaic systems as well as wind parks would be located on 6500 square miles (17,000 km2) in the Sahara Desert enabling for a massive super grid of voltage.

While you can't fault its scale, you can criticise the price tag - US$550 billion is a steep price and as such, the Desertc Industrial Initiative is being developed by a consortium of European and Algerian companies, under the name DII GmbH, in order to finance it.

Despite the cost, the consortium is welcoming investment and it is arguably quite a sound proposal, after all the potential economic pulling power of the Sahara solar project could eventually prevail, due to CSP being cheaper than traditional PV solar farms.

There is also the added benefits of no fuel costs and a lifetime of at least 40 years. Plus if the farm is the size of the one proposed, it could produce seven times more power than one in Germany.

Concentrated solar plants are becoming more and more prevalent, and research by the German Aerospace Centre shows that concentrated solar power plants in MENA will be capable of producing up to 470,000MW by the year 2050.

However there are things holding Desertec back; feasibility studies and investigations into methods of financing, not to mention the political issues could set the project back by five years. However it is hoped that once MENA governments see the benefits, it will not take them long to sign up.

Marcel Vietor, the head of foreign energy policy at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), says of the project: "Projects like Desertec might seem visionary at the moment, but are likely to become viable in some years. And those companies and countries that engage early in the development of such projects will gain comparative advantages."

If Desertec is successful however, it would be a massive boon to the industry, that has been hit hard in the wake of the global recession, with many solar companies across Europe - including Germany, a world leader in solar power - experiencing a collapse in earnings.

Relevant articles:

Will the Sahara one day power Europe? | Samso: The energy self-sufficient island | EU C02 emissions dropped by 11% in 2009

Like this article? Get the RSS feed:

blog comments powered by Disqus