N. Afrrica to Become a Source of Solar Power for Europe?

Scientists help make deserts into solar-energy hubs 

Swap solar energy from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for scientific equipment or access to facilities in Europe. Boost the scientific level in the region through exchanges and collaboration. Establish in Cairo a joint European–MENA solar energy center for research and implementation of relevant technologies. Power the region’s scientific facilities with solar energy.

A brainstorming sessions between scientists and policy makers came up with a plan to produce solar power for DESY (the synchrotron project in Germany) using solar power from North Africa.

Gerhard Knies, a retired DESY physicist, was the driving force in starting Desertec in 2009 after discovering that “within six hours deserts receive more energy from the sun than humankind consumes within a year,” ...Early estimates put a total cost of about €400 billion ($580 billion) on the infrastructure required for solar energy from MENA to satisfy 15% of Europe’s energy needs by 2050. If Knies is right, “the transfer from fossil fuel to renewable energy will become the biggest business of the future.”

For its part, DESY runs on roughly 200 gigawatt-hours per year. “With our current energy mix, we are responsible for 100 000 tons of carbon dioxide per year,” says Dosch.

Hmm, maybe we can put Mexico to some good use after all...



Hope it doesn't end up like this abandoned solar project in Germany.  It must have seemed like such a good idea at the time too.