#Vast solar plant in Africa to provide up to 25% of Europe's electrical needs
5048 Dead, 181 since 1/20/09
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/euro400bn-energy-plan-to-
harness-african-sun-1742768.html
€400bn energy plan to harness African sun
It's decision day on a chain of solar generators across the desert that
could supply a quarter of Europe's power
By Tony Paterson in Berlin
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Concentrating solar thermal plants use an array of mirrors to capture and
focus sunlight, which can then heat water and power turbines
Greenpeace
Concentrating solar thermal plants use an array of mirrors to capture and
focus sunlight, which can then heat water and power turbines
* Photos enlarge
The world's most ambitious green energy project is about to take shape.
It is a plan for a chain of mammoth sun-powered energy plants in the
deserts of North Africa to supply power to Europe's homes and factories
by the end of the next decade.
In a few days' time a consortium of 20 German firms will meet in Munich
to hammer out plans for funding the giant €400bn (£343bn) project, named
Desertec. The scheme is being backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel's
government and several German industry household names including Siemens,
Deutsche Bank, and the energy companies RWE and E.ON. The Munich meeting
will also involve Italian and Spanish energy concerns, as well as
representatives from the Arab League and the Club of Rome think-tank.
Energy experts have calculated that Desertec could meet at least 15 per
cent of Europe's needs, and be up and running by 2019. By 2050, they
estimate the contribution could be between 20 and 25 per cent. Although
no host countries have been named, Desertec envisages a string of solar-
thermal plants across North Africa's desert. The plants would use mirrors
to focus the sun's rays, which would be used to heat water to power steam
turbines. The process is cheaper and more efficient than the usual form
of solar power, which uses photovoltaic cells to convert the sun's rays
into electricity.
The project also envisages setting up a new super grid of high-voltage
transmission lines from the Mahgreb desert to Europe. Hans Müller-
Steinhagen, of German Aerospace, has researched the project for the
German government. He said that although the idea behind the scheme had
been around for several years, investors had been deterred by the high
costs of setting up the infrastructure.
Professor Müller-Steinhagen said that similar projects have been
operating in the American West for years, but these had failed to gain
the appropriate recognition. "Solar thermal power plants were built in
California and Nevada, but people lost interest in them because fossil
fuels became unbeatably cheap," he said.
Until now, projects of Desertec's scale have failed to get off the ground
because of the huge problems involved in delivering electricity to
consumers hundreds of miles away. The main stumbling block is that the
further electricity is transported, the more is lost. However, Siemens
claims that it has come up with a solution. Alfons Benziger, a spokesman
for the engineering giant which has been involved in the construction of
major hydro-power plants in India and China, said: "We have developed so-
called high-voltage direct current energy transmission. This can
transport energy over long distances without heavy losses. We use the
process at the power plants in India and China."
Andree Böhling, an energy expert for Greenpeace Germany, has heaped
praise on Desertec: "The initiative is one of the most intelligent
answers to the world's environmental and industrial problems," he said.
Munich Re, meanwhile, which insures major insurance companies across the
globe, was persuaded to invest in the project after seeing a steady rise
in the number of claims the company had to meet as a result of climate-
change-induced damage.
Yet Germany's largest solar energy company, SolarWorld, argues that North
Africa is too risky a location. "Building solar power plants in
politically unstable countries opens you to the same kind of dependency
as the situation with oil," said Frank Asbeck, the firm's managing
director.
Other critics claim that by singling out comparatively poor North African
countries as a location for a sophisticated European solar energy project
amounts to a form of "solar imperialism". Lars Josefsson, the head of the
Swedish energy giant Vattenfall, has also rejected the idea because of a
potential risk of terrorist attacks. However Desertec supporters,
including the German conservative politician Friedbert Pflüger, argue
that a far greater threat is posed by the prospect of nuclear power
plants being subjected to such attacks. He points out that a number of
nuclear reactors are scheduled to be built in North Africa – Egypt alone
plans to build five. Mr Pflüger claims that the risk of politically
motivated Russian-style energy stoppages by host countries could be
avoided if the solar grid has enough supply channels.
But he warns that politics is likely to be the main stumbling block.
"It's not Europe that will decide whether the desert can be used as an
energy resource, but the countries of North Africa," he said last week.
"So far these countries have either not been involved in the dialogue at
all or only at a very limited level."
--
"Well I think that they say that Rush Limbaugh is the 800 lb. gorilla in
the Republican Party. But I think that's mean-spirited to say that. ...
Because, I think he's down to 650 lbs. I think one should be fair to him
about this whole thing." -- Arnold Schwarzenegger
--
"Well I think that they say that Rush Limbaugh is the 800 lb. gorilla in
the Republican Party. But I think that's mean-spirited to say that. ...
Because, I think he's down to 650 lbs. I think one should be fair to him
about this whole thing." -- Arnold Schwarzenegger