It's always great to hear about big renewable energy investments by the private sector. It offers hope for the future. I read a report recently that estimated that a great deal (dont remember statistics) of the power in Europe could be supplied by solar thermal plants in the Sahara like this one.
Potential problems include:
-New colonialization of developing countries by global corporations.
-Risk perception in attracting investment is one, even though from an insurance perspective North Africa is less risky than other areas of the world consistently receiving investments in the energy projects.
-Regulatory hurdles in North Africa are another. In the region most energy projects have a significant degree of state involvement, which undoubtedly adds a layer of complexity and hassle.
-Perhaps the biggest challenge is actually getting the electricity back to Europe, though not from a technical perspective. Speaking last March in Copenhagen, Anthony Patt of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis pointed out that Europe's electricity distribution system is really a collection of 27 different systems. Until these are more fully integrated, distributing the Sahara's electricity could be difficult.
AFP:
German firms plan to club together next month to turn into reality a dream to generate electricity for Europe in the deserts of north Africa using solar power, a newspaper report said Tuesday.
The 20 or so firms will form on July 13 a consortium that aims to attract an enormous 400 billion euros (560 billion dollars) in investment in the project, known as Desertec, the Suedeutsche Zeitung daily reported.
It wants to place solar power installations in several countries in the region, provided they are politically stable, the paper said, quoting Torsten Jeworek, a board member of insurance giant and consortium head Munich Re.
He also said that he was "very optimistic" that other countries including Italy and Spain would join, and that there had been "positive signals" from North America as well.
"We want to create an initiative that will put on the table concrete implementation plans in the next two or three years," Jeworek said. "Technologically, the project is practicable."
He added that Desertec could provide around 15 percent of Europe's electricity needs. The Suedeutsche Zeitung said that the first electricity could begin flowing to Europe in 10 years.
A spokeswoman for German engineering giant Siemens, which the paper said would be a member of the consortium, told AFP that Desertec was a "very exciting project."
If fully realised, the project could generate 100 gigawatts of electricity, the equivalent of 100 power plants, the Siemens spokeswoman added.
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