Elektrit saab tasuta

Here Comes The Sun
BILL CORCORAN In Cape TownENVIRONMENT: A group of multinationals is finalising an ambitious plan to harvest sunlight in the Sahara with the aim of providing 15 per cent of Europe's energy needs


AN AMBITIOUS concept to produce 15 per cent of Europe's energy from the Sahara desert's sunlight moved a step closer to reality recently when a group of multinationals agreed to make the idea a genuine industrial project.

Despite a daunting range of challenges facing the Desertec initiative, and a large number of critics who claim the project is nothing but a pipe dream, 12 companies committed themselves in July to producing a clean renewable energy source in the Sahara using concentrated solar power (CSP).

The Desertec concept, which has been around for decades, proposes the use of large fields of sun-harvesting solar mirrors to heat a boilable liquid, the steam from which powers turbines to generate electricity without producing the greenhouse gases that destroy our atmosphere.

Scientists say the Sahara's sunshine contains more energy in six hours than the world currently uses in a full year, and the CSP technology needed to make Desertec a reality is already in use in California, Spain and Brazil, albeit on a smaller scale.

The idea is to build solar power stations across the Sahara that will be linked together by high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines, which will handle the flow of electricity to marketplaces in the Middle East and Europe. A large number of European countries have committed themselves to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.

According to the Desertec foundation, electricity transmission losses using the HVDC technology are three per cent per 1,000 km, although there are also small alternating (AC)and direct current (DC) power losses that also need to be factored in.

Taking this into account, the foundation believes electricity may be transmitted from North Africa to the UK with less than 10 per cent loss of power, making it feasible and economical to transmit solar electricity for over 3,000km or more.

The €400 billion plan to make Desertec's concept a reality has been taken on by the group of predominately German companies, who say they want to be at the forefront of tackling climate change and clean-energy production. The corporations, which include Munich Re, Deutsche Bank and Siemens, are in the process of forming a legal entity - which should be finalised by the end of October - and deciding where the company will be based and who its senior personnel will be.

Once these are done, over the next three years they intend to investigate and find solutions to the technical and political challenges facing the project, which they see moving forward in small stages until its completion by 2050.

Munich Re spokesperson Alexander Mohanty said the insurance giant decided to get involved because of the effect climate change is having on its core business, as well as the technology's huge commercial potential in years to come.

The challenges facing Munich Re and its partners are wide-ranging and deep-rooted, and critics say they will likely bring the project to its knees before it can be fully realised.

For instance, establishing a regulatory framework across North African countries to facilitate investment will be difficult if past efforts are anything to go by. Two decades ago, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya agreed to an economic union, but trade between them remains stubbornly low.

The politics of the nomadic desert tribes is also complicated, and al-Qaeda poses a threat. The terrorist organisation remains operational in a number of North African countries, meaning Western-backed solar power stations and their staff could become targets.

Although Morocco has given the project its support, the Algerian government has stated it will only work with Desertec if it allows local and foreign firms to form partnerships, and the technology involved is shared.

"If these conditions are not met, we are not interested. We don't want foreign companies exploiting solar energy from our land," Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil told reporters last month.

The desert environment also provides its own difficulties. The negative effects of continuous sandstorms must somehow be overcome; and the issue of using up large amounts of water - to clean the mirrors - in a region where the population is exposed to drought poses moral questions.

Despite these challenges, Munich Re believes the project, which will be the biggest-ever private initiative attempting to mitigate climate change, is worth pursuing given the potential benefits on offer to everyone.

Aside from developed and North African countries gaining access to clean power, states from the latter region that become involved will gain jobs, infrastructure, and the knowledge that creates renewable energy.

"Over the next few years, we will work on the regulatory framework to see if it can be achieved to facilitate investment. Also, this project is not about exploiting African countries. We have principals and Desertec can only work if everyone benefits," concluded Mohanty.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times