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Sahara Forest Project

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The Sahara Forest Project pilot facility in Qatar

The Sahara Forest Project aims to provide fresh water, food and renewable energy in hot, arid regions as well as re-vegetating areas of uninhabited desert.[1][2] The founding team was composed of Seawater Greenhouse Ltd, Exploration Architecture, Max Fordham Consulting Engineers and the Bellona Foundation.

The proposed technology combines saltwater-cooled greenhouses with solar power technologies, either directly using photovoltaic (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power and technologies for desert revegetation. It is claimed that these technologies together will create a sustainable and profitable source of energy, food, vegetation and water. The scale of the proposed project is such that very large quantities of seawater would be evaporated. By using locations below sea level, pumping costs would be eliminated. A project in Qatar has been completed, and pilot projects in Jordan and Tunisia have been initiated.[3][4][5][6]

Pilot in Qatar

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Sahara Forest Project's first pilot facility was built in Qatar and officially opened on 16 December 2012 by the then Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.[7][4][5][6] The results were better than expected.[8][9] The results have guided next steps, namely a test and demonstration center providing the first commercial-scale of the full Sahara Forest Project value chain.

Jordan agreement

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On 22 June 2014, the Sahara Forest Project signed an agreement with the Norwegian Embassy in Amman for establishing a Sahara Forest Project Launch Station and related activities in Jordan.[10] The Launch Station will be the first step towards a full-scale Sahara Forest Project Centre in Aqaba, Jordan. The Launch Station will contain a saltwater-cooled greenhouse in combination with solar power technologies and facilities for outdoor cultivation and revegetation. The Qatar plant was dismantled in 2016, and is expected to be operational in Jordan in 2017 after being shipped.[11]

Not all reports on the project are optimistic. Hydroponics projects globally tend to be overly optimistic but there are downsides to producing expensive crops in a population that cannot afford to buy them.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jha, Alok (2 September 2008). "Seawater greenhouses to bring life to the desert". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  2. ^ "Fourth World Conference on the Future of Science "Food and Water for Life" - Venice, September 24-27, 2008" (PDF). thefutureofscience.org. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2009.
  3. ^ Clery, D. (2011). "Greenhouse-Power Plant Hybrid Set to Make Jordan's Desert Bloom". Science. 331 (6014): 136. Bibcode:2011Sci...331..136C. doi:10.1126/science.331.6014.136. PMID 21233357.
  4. ^ a b Dell'Amore, Christine (22 January 2011). "High-Tech Energy "Oasis" to Bloom in the Desert?". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  5. ^ a b Rosner, Hilary (7 August 2011). "The Future of Farming: Eight Solutions For a Hungry World". Popular Science. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  6. ^ a b Walt, Vivienne (15 January 2009). "Out of Africa: Saharan Solar Energy". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on 19 January 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  7. ^ John, Pratap (12 December 2012). "Heir Apparent unveils Sahara Forest Project". Gulf Times. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  8. ^ Clery, Daniel (7 November 2013). "Desert Farming Experiment Yields First Results". Science.
  9. ^ "Qatar Pilot results exceed expectations". saharaforestproject.com. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  10. ^ ""A showcase for the region" - Norwegian embassy signs contract with the Sahara Forest Project". Norwegian Embassy in Jordan. 23 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  11. ^ Lie, Øyvind (18 October 2016). "Sahara Forest Project vil bygge tre ganger større enn planlagt i Jordan" [Sahara Forest Project will build three times bigger than planned in Jordan]. Teknisk Ukeblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  12. ^ O'Keefe, Faisal (3 May 2012). "Aqaba's Got Norwegian Wood - Isn't it Good? - Green Prophet".
  13. ^ Margolis, Jonathan (24 November 2012). "Growing food in the desert: is this the solution to the world's food crisis?". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  14. ^ "The Sundrop System". sundropfarms.com. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
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