Desertec

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)

Extent of Sahara Desert ecoregion

DESERTEC is a concept proposed by the DESERTEC Foundation for making use of solar energy and wind energy. 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] Construction of the Desertec's first 500 MW solar farm in Morocco is schedueled to start in 2012.^[2]

Description

The DESERTEC concept aims at promoting the generation of electricity in Northern Africa, the Middle East and Europa using solar power plants, wind parks and the transmission of this electricity to the consumption centres, promoted by the non-profit DESERTEC Foundation.^[3] Despite its name, Desertec's proposal would see most of the power plants located outside of the Sahara Desert itself, in the more accessible southern and northern steppes and woodlands, as well as the relatively moist Atlantic coastal desert.

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.^[4]

Under the DESERTEC proposal, concentrating solar power systems, photovoltaic systems and wind parks would be spread over the desert regions in Northern Africa like the Sahara desert.^[5][6] Produced electricity would be transmitted to European and African countries by a super grid of high-voltage direct current cables.^[6][7] 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.^[5][8] By 2050, investments into solar plants and transmission lines would be total €400 billion.^[6] The exact plan, including technical and financial requirements, will be designed by 2012.^[9]

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.^[10]

History

The DESERTEC concept was originally developed by TREC, 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).^[10]

On 13 July 2009, twelve companies from Europe and North Africa and the DESERTEC Foundation announced their intention to create an industrial initiative to accelerate the implementation of the DESERTEC Concept in Europe, Middle East and North Africa.^[11] On 30 October 2009, the joint venture was founded in Munich under the name Dii GmbH.^[12]

In February 2010, Dii 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.^[13][14] In June 2011, Dii signed a memorandum with understating with the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen).^[15]

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."^[16]

In November 2011, plans were finalised to begin the construction of Desertec's first 500 MW solar farm in Morocco. Construction of the solar farm will begin in 2012.^[2]

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,^[17] focusing on availability of resources and demand for energy in the Mediterranean area, TRANS-CSP,^[18] concentrating on the assessment of an interconnection between Europe and MENA and the assessment of solar energy imports, and AQUA-CSP,^[19] 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.^[7] The project company is incorporated under German law.^[9] 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.^{[6][7][9][20]} 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.^[21]

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".^[22] DESERTEC officials say the project could one day deliver 15 percent of Europe's electricity and a considerable part of MENA's electricity demand.^[22] According to the DESERTEC Foundation, the project has strong job creation potential and could improve the stability in the region. ^[23] 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.^[24]

Obstacles

Centralized solar energy plants and transmission lines may become a target of terrorist attacks.^[6] Some experts—such as Professor Tony Day, director of the Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Building at London South Bank University,^[25] Henry Wilkinson of Janusian Security Risk Management,^[22] and Wolfram Lacher of Control Risks consultancy^[22] -- 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.^[22]

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.^[22]
Opposed to this, studies point out the generation of fresh water by the solar thermal plants.^[26] Furthermore, no significant amount of water is needed for cleaning and cooling, since alternative technologies can be used (dry cleaning, dry cooling^[27]).

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.^[28]

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).^[29]
Investment may be required within Europe in a 'supergrid'.^[30] 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.^[31] 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.^[32]

See also

• European super grid
• Intermittent energy source
• List of HVDC projects
• North Sea Offshore Grid
• Renewable energy in Morocco
• Relative cost of electricity generated by different sources
• Solar energy in Israel
• Solel
• SuperSmart Grid
• Wind power in Morocco

References

1. ^ "First steps to bring Saharan solar to Europe". EurActiv. 2009-07-22. http://www.euractiv.com/en/energy/steps-bring-saharan-solar-europe/article-184274. Retrieved 2010-12-24. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Morocco to host first solar farm in renewables network". The Guardian, 2 November 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
3. ^ "Our Global Mission". DESERTEC Foundation. http://www.desertec.org/en/global-mission/. Retrieved 2010-12-24. 
4. ^ "Bringing the Desertec vision into reality". Dii GmbH. http://www.dii-eumena.com/home/energy-from-deserts-more.html. Retrieved 2010-12-24. 
5. ^ ^{a b} McKie, Robin (2007-12-02). "How Africa's desert sun can bring Europe power". The Observer (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/dec/02/renewableenergy.solarpower. Retrieved 2007-12-08. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e} Rzhevskiy, Ilya (2009-06-29). "World's Most Daring Solar Energy Project Coming to Fruition". The Epoch Times. http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/18824/. Retrieved 2009-07-03. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Kanter, James (2009-06-18). "European Solar Power From African Deserts?". The New York Times. http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/european-solar-power-from-african-deserts/. Retrieved 2009-07-03. 
8. ^ "DESERTEC Foundation". Desertec.org. 2011-03-31. http://www.desertec.org/en/global-mission/focus-region-eu-mena/. Retrieved 2011-04-24. 
9. ^ ^{a b c} van Loon, Jeremy; von Schaper, Eva (2009-07-13). "Siemens, Munich Re Start Developing Sahara Project". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=axTitkxai.ho. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "From Vision to Reality". DESERTEC Foundation. http://www.desertec.org/en/global-mission/milestones/. Retrieved 2010-12-24. 
11. ^ "€400 billion plan to bring African solar energy to Europe". Times of Malta. 2009-07-15. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090715/world-news/euro-400-billion-plan-to-bring-african-solar-energy-to-europe. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
12. ^ "Joint venture DII established and ready to take up work" (Press release). Desertec Foundation. 2009-10-30. http://www.desertec.org/en/press/press-releases/091030-01-formation-dii-gmbh/. Retrieved 2010-10-30. 
13. ^ "Solar project Desertec plans to add five partners: CEO". Reuters. 2010-02-17. http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE61G0I820100217. Retrieved 2010-12-24. 
14. ^ "Renewable energy turning Morocco into green future". Global Arab Network. 2010-03-12. http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/201003125156/Energy/renewable-energy-potential-turning-morocco-into-green-future.html. Retrieved 2010-12-24. 
15. ^ Yee, April (2011-06-26). "Morocco is key testing ground for Desertec solar-farm project". The National. http://www.thenational.ae/business/energy/morocco-is-key-testing-ground-for-desertec-solar-farm-project. Retrieved 2011-07-23. 
16. ^ Maung, Zara (2010-04-23). "Solar giant Desertec to avoid Western Sahara". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/desertec-western-sahara. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
17. ^ "DLR - Institut für Technische Thermodynamik - MED-CSP". Dlr.de. http://www.dlr.de/tt/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-2885/4422_read-6575/. Retrieved 2011-04-24. 
18. ^ "DLR - Institut für Technische Thermodynamik - TRANS-CSP Trans-Mediterranean interconnection for Concentrating Solar Power". Dlr.de. http://www.dlr.de/tt/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-2885/4422_read-6588/. Retrieved 2011-04-24. 
19. ^ "DLR - Institut für Technische Thermodynamik - AQUA-CSP Concentrating Solar Power for Seawater Desalination". Dlr.de. http://www.dlr.de/tt/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-3525/5497_read-6611/. Retrieved 2011-04-24. 
20. ^ Williams, Selina (2009-06-28). "E.ON To Boost Solar Invest-Renewables Head". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090628-702779.html. Retrieved 2009-07-03. ^{[dead link]}
21. ^ "Paul van Son". EFETnet. http://www.efetnet.org/efetnet/content/e10/e93/e244/index_en.html. Retrieved 2010-12-24. 
22. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Pfeiffer, Tom (2009-08-23). "Europe's Saharan power plan: miracle or mirage?". Reuters.com. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE57N00920090824?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=11613. Retrieved 2011-04-24. 
23. ^ "Jobs and prospects for young North Africans" (Press release). DESERTEC Foundation. 2011-09-28. http://www.desertec.org/press/press-releases/110928-01-jobs-and-prospects-for-young-north-africans/. Retrieved 2011-11-04. 
24. ^ Erik Kirschbaum (2009-07-02). "German study sees job boom from Sahara solar project". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE56153V20090702?sp=true. Retrieved 2009-07-03. 
25. ^ "Solar power technology takes its next step". Reuters. Monday, 23 November 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8370642.stm. 
26. ^ "Aqua-Csp". Dlr.de. http://www.dlr.de/tt/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-3525/5497_read-6611/. Retrieved 2011-04-24. 
27. ^ "Microsoft PowerPoint - Advanced Heller System - Technical_2005_feb" (PDF). http://www.energy.ca.gov/pier/conferences+seminars/2005-06_advanced_cooling_conference/papers/F_Advanced_Heller_System_Technical_2005.pdf. Retrieved 2011-04-24. 
28. ^ interview with Hermann Scheer by correspondent de:Stefan Schulze-Hausmann, TV contributions "Zukunftsstadt Masdar" and "Desertec", de:nano (Sendung), 3sat, 10. May 2010
29. ^ "Ultra HVDC Transmission System - Siemens". Energy.siemens.com. http://www.energy.siemens.com/hq/en/power-transmission/hvdc/hvdc-ultra/. Retrieved 2011-04-24. 
30. ^ "DESERTEC Forum". http://www.DESERTEC.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=38. Retrieved 2009-01-16. ^{[dead link]}
31. ^ "The Cascading Principle". http://www.trec-uk.org.uk/elec_eng/cascade.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16. 
32. ^ DESERTEC (2008-07-16). "Economic and cultural aspects of DESERTEC Project". http://www.zukunftstreff.info/science/1-aktuelle-nachrichten/80-europes-dream-of-endless-energy.html. Retrieved 2008-08-06. 

External links

• DESERTEC Foundation
• Dii GmbH