Will the Sahara one day power Europe?

Sahara Solar Power

The solar potential of Africa is widely known. The continent would have more than enough to satisfy the energy needs of every country within its borders, and could even have some left over. If this is the case, how can this "left over" power be used?

A simple square super-imposed onto a huge area of the Sahara desert has captured the attention of many industry experts who believe Europe could get a significant chunk of its energy from the region.

Known as the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII), the German-led consortium of 12 European businesses consists of some of country's biggest engineering and power companies, along with Munich Re, the largest reinsurer in the world. The project involves concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, and was first announced in July when it was met with criticism from many for being "unrealistic" and even exploitative.

But the group aims to provide 15 percent of Europe's electricity by 2050 or earlier via power lines stretching across the desert and Mediterranean Sea.

Solar farm the size of Wales

Speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona last year, Arnulf Jaeger-Waldau of the European commission's Institute for Energy said that compared to the size of the countries on the continent, the area needed for a CSP plant large enough to power Europe is tiny - roughly the size of Wales.

Of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle East deserts, only 0.3 percent would need to be captured in order to help satisfy Europe's energy needs. The EU claim the project is a way of "sharing" Europe's renewable energy resources across the globe through the construction of a chain on huge wind and solar farms.

The project is daunting in size and cost, with Jaeger-Walden estimating the building of the necessary transmission capacity alone could cost up to GBP£1 billion a year, every year, until 2050.

Turning vision into reality

But regardless of the criticism and sheer scale of the talks ahead, the DII are determined to push forward, "The time has come to turn this vision into reality," said the company's chief executive, Paul van Son.

"That implies intensive co-operation with many parties and cultures, to create a sound basis for feasible investments into renewable energy technologies and interconnected grids," he added.

The primary aim behind the project is to cut our reliance on polluting fossil fuels as nations across the globe strive to meet energy targets.

Desertec have been keen to highlight that Sahara solar plants will also be used to power domestic African nations, stressing that North Africa has a small population relative to the size of its desert terrain.

Image source: BBC

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European Solar Plans | German Smart Grid Plans | African Figures Back Climate Change

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