Recently, Solar Power Plants have been planned to be installed in Sahara to generate electricity. Around a dozen companies are planning to launch a renewable energy initiative which they claim can provide Europeans with electricity generated from the Sahara at a cost of $557 billion within a decade.
A German insurer Munich Re, Deutsche Bank, utilities RWE and Eon, and industrial conglomerate Siemens are planning to form a company to explore the technical and geopolitical challenges of installing solar mirrors in the deserts of North Africa and Middle East.
By joining together hundreds of solar thermal power plants and wind farms with high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission cables under the Mediterranean sea, the founders of the Desertec Industrial Initiative, who are working behind this project, hope to supply 15 percent of Europe’s electricity needs one day.
The solar power plants are used to concentrate the sun’s heat to generate electricity. Hundreds of mirrors are used to focus the sun’s rays on to a receiver that contains a heat transfer fluid such as oil. This heat energy is used to produce steam which drives a turbine, much like a traditional power station. The world’s deserts receive more energy from the sun in six hours than mankind consumes in a year. Scientists estimate that covering 3 per cent of surface of the Sahara with solar power plants would be sufficient to meet the world’s energy needs. The good news is that unlike photovoltaic solar cells, CSP plants are able to generate electricity even at night and on cloudy days by storing the heat they produce. However, CSP require lots of water to aid cooling, a resource not commonly associated with desert climates, but scientists are developing other cooling methods.
A study by the German Aerospace Centre estimated the total cost of the project at €395bn. Although companies acknowledge the project’s complexity, they insist the technology is ready to be implemented. Concentrating solar power plants have been used in California since the 1980s. The initiative has already won an army of powerful supporters, including Angela Merkel, the German chancellor and José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission.
HVDC cables are already capable of transporting power over hundreds of kilometers without large efficiency losses. According to Wolfgang Dehen, chief executive of Siemens Energy, the Desertec project has been on the drawing board for 30 years and now for the first time it has become technically feasible. Power companies are keen to be associated with the project but have also stressed the practical difficulties involved.
Although, the project may take a long time to complete and start working efficiently, Concentrated Solar Plants are the future of energy. The sooner we start working towards such renewable and abundant energy sources, the brighter our future will be.
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