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Desertec

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Sketch of possible infrastructure for a sustainable supply of power to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EU-MENA) (Euro-Supergrid with a EU-MENA-Connection proposed by TREC)

DESERTEC is a concept proposed by the DESERTEC Foundation for making use of solar energy and wind energy in global deserts. This concept will be implemented in North Africa and the Middle East by the consortium Dii GmbH, formed by a group of European companies and the DESERTEC Foundation. The DESERTEC concept was initiated under the auspices of the Club of Rome and the German Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC).[1]

Description

The DESERTEC concept aims at promoting the generation of electricity in deserts using solar power plants, wind parks and the transmission of this electricity to the consumption centres, promoted by the non-profit DESERTEC Foundation.[2]

The original and first region for the assessment and application of this concept is the EU-MENA region (Europe, Middle East, Northern Africa). The realization of the DESERTEC concept in this region is pursued by the industrial initiative Dii.[3]

Under the DESERTEC proposal, concentrating solar power systems, photovoltaic systems and wind parks would be spread over 6,500 square miles (17,000 km2) of the Sahara desert.[4][5] Produced electricity would be transmitted to European and African countries by a super grid of high-voltage direct current cables.[5][6] It would provide a considerable part of the electricity demand of the MENA countries and furthermore provide continental Europe with 15% of its electricity needs.[4][7] By 2050, investments into solar plants and transmission lines would be total €400 billion.[5] The exact plan, including technical and financial requirements, will be designed by 2012.[8]

An international network of scientists, experts and politicians from the field of renewable energies form the core of the DESERTEC network, coordinated by the non-profit DESERTEC Foundation. One of the most famous members is Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan.[9]

History

The DESERTEC concept was originally developed by TREC (Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation), which itself was founded 2003 by the Club of Rome and the National Energy Research Center Jordan, with the scientific work mainly done by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).[9]

The DESERTEC Industrial Initiative GmbH (Dii) was officially launched by twelve European companies and the DESERTEC Foundation on 13 July 2009 in Munich.[10] The foundation date is exactly one year after the 43 participants of the Union for the Mediterranean summit under French and Egypt leadership had signed the Mediterranean Solar-Plan (MSP), known in French as Plan Solaire Méditerranéen (PSM). On 30 October 2009, Dii GmbH was founded in Munich.[11]

In February 2010, consortium announced that the focus will be to develop demonstration projects and to ensure renewable energy laws allowing imports of green energy are in place in various countries. Talks with the Moroccan government had been successful and the Dii confirmed their first reference project would be on Moroccan soil.[12][13]

In April 2010, a consortium spokeperson made the following official confirmation: "Our reference projects will not be located in the Western Sahara. When looking for project sites, Desertec Industrial Initiative will also take political, ecological or cultural issues into consideration. This procedure is in line with the funding policies of international development banks."[14]

Studies

The DESERTEC Concept is mainly based on three studies conducted by the German Aerospace Center, which among other topics have analyzed the available ressources for renewable energies, the predicted demand for energy and water in EU-MENA till 2050 and the creation of an integrated electricity network between Europe and MENA. The studies have been commissioned the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and have been conducted by the German Aerospace Center between 2004 and 2007. The studies are MED-CSP,[15] focusing on availability of resources and demand for energy in the Mediterranean area, TRANS-CSP,[16] concentrating on the assessment of an interconnection between Europe and MENA and the assessment of solar energy imports, and AQUA-CSP,[17] which analyzes the demand of water and the possibility to generate fresh water along with electricity by the thermal solar power plants.

Developer

The project of the realization of the DESERTEC concept in EU-MENA is developed by Dii GmbH, a consortium of European and Algerian companies founded in Munich and led by Munich Re.[6] The project company is incorporated under German law.[8] The consortium consists of the DESERTEC Foundation, Munich Re, Deutsche Bank, Siemens, ABB, E.ON, RWE, Abengoa Solar, Cevital, HSH Nordbank, M & W Zander Holding, MAN Solar Millennium, and Schott Solar.[5][6][8][18] Press investigations point to a number of more interested parties - among them ENEL , Électricité de France, Red Eléctrica de España and companies from Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. CEO of Dii GmbH is Paul van Son, a senior international energy manager.[19]

The company is supposed to create a detailed technical plan for the DESERTEC realisation and to prepare contracts for the DESERTEC supergrid that can be signed in 2012.[citation needed]

Benefits

See also: Earth's energy budget

More energy falls on the world's deserts in six hours than the world consumes in a year, and the Saharan desert is virtually uninhabited and is close to Europe. Supporters say that the project will keep Europe "at the forefront of the fight against climate change and help North African and European economies to grow within greenhouse gas emission limits".[20] DESERTEC officials say the project could one day deliver 15 percent of Europe's electricity and a considerable part of MENA's electricity demand.[20] According to the report by Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy and the Club of Rome, the project could create 240,000 German jobs and generate €2 trillion worth of electricity by 2050.[21]

Obstacles

Centralized solar energy plants and transmission lines may become a target of terrorist attacks.[5] Some experts—such as Professor Tony Day, director of the Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Building at London South Bank University,[22] Henry Wilkinson of Janusian Security Risk Management,[20] and Wolfram Lacher of Control Risks consultancy[20] -- are concerned about political obstacles to the project. Generating so much of the electricity consumed in Europe and in Africa would create a political dependency on North African countries which have corruption and a lack of cross-border coordination. Moreover, DESERTEC would require extensive economic and political cooperation between Algeria and Morocco, which is at risk as the border between the two countries is closed due to a disagreement over the Western Sahara. Cooperation between the states of Europe and the states of the Middle East and North Africa is also certain to be challenging. Large scale cooperation necessary between the EU and the north African nations the project may be delayed due to bureaucratic red tape and other factors such as expropriation of assets.[20]

There are also concerns that the water requirement for the solar plant to clean dust off panels and for turbine coolant may be detrimental to local populations in terms of the demand it will place on the local water supply.[20]
Opposed to this, studies point out the generation of fresh water by the solar thermal plants.[23] Furthermore, no significant amount of water is needed for cleaning and cooling, since alternative technologies can be used (dry cleaning, dry cooling[24]).

The late Hermann Scheer (Eurosolar) pointed out that the doubled solar radiation in the Sahara can not be the only criterion especially with its continuous trade winds there being problematic.[25]

Transmitting energy over long distances has been criticized[who?], with questions raised over the cost of cabling compared to energy generation, and over electricity losses.
Opposed to this, the study and current operating technology show, that electricity losses using High-voltage direct current transmission amount to only 3% per 1,000 km (25% per 10,000 km).[26]
Investment may be required within Europe in a 'supergrid'.[27] In response, one proposal is to cascade power between neighbouring states so that states draw on the power generation of neighbouring states rather than from distant desert sites.[28] This however does not influence the overall energy that needs to be transmitted and the importance of a small transmission loss.

One key question will be the cultural aspect, as Middle Eastern and African nations may need assurance that they will own the project rather than it being imposed from Europe.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ "First steps to bring Saharan solar to Europe". EurActiv. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  2. ^ "Our Global Mission". DESERTEC Foundation. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Bringing the Desertec vision into reality". Dii GmbH. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  4. ^ a b McKie, Robin (2 December 2007). "How Africa's desert sun can bring Europe power". The Observer. London. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d e Rzhevskiy (29 June 2009). "World's Most Daring Solar Energy Project Coming to Fruition". The Epoch Times. Retrieved 3 July 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |fiest= ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b c Kanter, James (18 June 2009). "European Solar Power From African Deserts?". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  7. ^ DESERTEC Foundation
  8. ^ a b c van Loon, Jeremy; von Schaper, Eva (13 July 2009). "Siemens, Munich Re Start Developing Sahara Project". Bloomberg. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  9. ^ a b "From Vision to Reality". DESERTEC Foundation. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  10. ^ "€400 billion plan to bring African solar energy to Europe". Times of Malta. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  11. ^ "Joint venture DII established and ready to take up work" (Press release). Desertec Foundation. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  12. ^ "Solar project Desertec plans to add five partners: CEO". Reuters. 17 February 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  13. ^ "Renewable energy turning Morocco into green future". Global Arab Network. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  14. ^ Maung, Zara (23 April 2010). "Solar giant Desertec to avoid Western Sahara". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  15. ^ http://www.dlr.de/tt/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-2885/4422_read-6575/
  16. ^ http://www.dlr.de/tt/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-2885/4422_read-6588/
  17. ^ http://www.dlr.de/tt/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-3525/5497_read-6611/
  18. ^ "E.ON To Boost Solar Invest-Renewables Head". Wall Street Journal. 28 June 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2009. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Unknown parameter |lat= ignored (help) [dead link]
  19. ^ "Paul van Son". EFETnet. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  20. ^ a b c d e f Europe's Saharan power plan: miracle or mirage?
  21. ^ Erik Kirschbaum (2 July 2009). "German study sees job boom from Sahara solar project". Reuters. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  22. ^ "Solar power technology takes its next step". Reuters. Monday, 23 November 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ AQUA-CSP
  24. ^ http://www.energy.ca.gov/pier/conferences+seminars/2005-06_advanced_cooling_conference/papers/F_Advanced_Heller_System_Technical_2005.pdf
  25. ^ interview with Hermann Scheer by correspondent de:Stefan Schulze-Hausmann, TV contributions "Zukunftsstadt Masdar" and "Desertec", de:nano (Sendung), 3sat, 10. May 2010
  26. ^ http://www.energy.siemens.com/hq/en/power-transmission/hvdc/hvdc-ultra/
  27. ^ "DESERTEC Forum". Retrieved 16 January 2009. {{cite web}}: Text "2007-11-15" ignored (help); Text "Nick Cook" ignored (help) [dead link]
  28. ^ "The Cascading Principle". Retrieved 16 January 2009. {{cite web}}: Text "2009-01-16" ignored (help); Text "Gerry Wolff" ignored (help)
  29. ^ DESERTEC (16 July 2008). "Economic and cultural aspects of DESERTEC Project". Retrieved 6 August 2008.
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