Desertec Initiative debate continues

The Desertec Initiative

The US$400 billion Desertec Industrial Initiative is one of the biggest, and most formidable, renewable energy projects proposed. The plan sees the construction of a vast solar power farm in the Sahara desert that could potentially supply all of Europe with electricity, but for now aims to supply 15 percent by 2015.

However the consortium behind the project, that includes the likes of Munich Re, Siemens, E.ON, and RWE, is facing resistance from groups from fear the project is just a pipe dream.

Possible problems for the project, they claim, include the political instability of the Maghreb region, maintenance of the panels as sandstorms will pose a threat to the functioning of the installations, and water being taken from villages to clean the dust off solar mirrors.

There is also the worry that possible investors may be dissuaded as a result of Libya's political turmoil. On top of that, several countries such as Algeria have opted to tend to their domestic power issues instead of a larger international project.

When the project was first announced in July 2009, it was dismissed as being "unrealistic" and even exploitative. However, the energy potential has allowed it to find a lot of support in recent months.

Massive project

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 Desertec proposes.

The idea is that CSP systems, photovoltaic systems as well as wind parks would be located on 6,500 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 Desertec 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 still problems. Apart from the above mentioned concerns, regulation is still lacking in the region and as such the consortium is attempting to win above-market prices for the potential energy transported from the Sahara desert CSP scheme.

Not just that, but African countries just aren't embracing it. While it may prevent Russia energy dependency for Europe, many African firms believe it is primarily a "European energy project for Europe."

Relevant articles:

Will the Sahara one day power Europe? | African solar power to power Europe? | A time to shine | €400bn super-grid to link Europe and the Middle East | The largest solar power project in Saudi Arabia

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