Europe turns to Africa for energy from the sun (Feature)

By Sinikka Tarvainen Dec 2, 2010, 2:06 GMT

Madrid - Imagine vast stretches of the Sahara desert, covered by shiny parabolic mirrors capturing heat from the sun that a system of steam turbines will transform into electricity.

An extensive network of high-tech cables would then transport the energy long distances to Europe, which would be getting all of its electricity from the sun and other renewable sources, with no more need for nuclear plants or contaminating fossil power.

Until recently, such a vision would have seemed like science fiction. But now, projects are already underway to make it reality.

'The idea of importing solar energy from Africa is technically viable, if the costs can be covered,' solar energy expert and author Juan Guillermo Guerrero says.

The political framework for such projects is the 43-nation Union for the Mediterranean's solar plan, explains Luis Crespo, secretary- general of the Spanish solar energy companies' association Protermosolar.

The 2008 Mediterranean Solar Plan aims at turning southern Mediterranean countries into solar power producers for the Euro- Mediterranean region.

The European Union, whose 27 member states belong to the Union for the Mediterranean, has already adopted a directive setting the framework for energy projects with non-EU countries.

Meanwhile, several private initiatives are being launched to import solar energy from Africa to Europe.

The biggest of them is Desertec, billed as the world's most ambitious solar power project, which was launched in Germany. It regroups European and North African companies, including giants such as Deutsche Bank, Siemens, E.ON, RWE or Spain's Abengoa.

The Earth's deserts receive as much energy from the sun in one day as humanity consumes in an entire year, experts calculate.

It is estimated that solar energy installations covering less than 1 per cent of the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East would produce enough electricity to cover the needs of those regions, as well as Europe.

Spain - one of the world leaders in green energies - gets about 35 per cent from its electricity from the renewable sources, Crespo told the German Press Agency dpa. Those sources include water, wind, sun and biomass.

Solar power covers less than 3 per cent of Spain's electricity needs, but it is growing rapidly. Fourteen solar thermal plants are already operating, yielding more than 500 megawatts, and dozens more are being built or planned.

As for Africa, there are small local solar energy installations all over the continent, according to Crespo.

However, Africa only has three solar thermal plants, which function partly with gas, he said. Those plants are located in Morocco, Algeria and Egypt.

Projects such as Desertec would not only help to avert the energy crisis and combat global warming, but they would also improve African economies and even build cultural bridges, their advocates say.

Desertec aims at supplying 15 per cent of Europe's electricity by 2050 from solar and wind power installations in Africa and the Middle East. The EU's official aim is to obtain 20 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Producing solar thermal energy in the desert presents specific problems that need to be solved, such as obtaining the water supplies necessary for the functioning of power plants, Guerrero told dpa.

Solar power is also seen as being unreliable, insofar as it is obtained only when the sun shines. Yet heat derived through solar thermal energy can be stored for about eight hours, and it can be completed with other renewables, Guerrero said.

Projects like Desertec would not only require building vast networks of power plants and transmission grids, but legislation and standards would also need to be harmonized between continents.

And such projects would have to deal with major political problems, such as the tense relations between Morocco and Algeria.

The biggest obstacle, however, could be money. The Desertec project is estimated to cost 400 billion euros (520 billion dollars).

Crespo doubts whether EU countries, investors and international organizations will come up with such a sum. 'EU countries have told the European Commission that they expect to cover their own needs' in green energies, without needing imports from Africa, he says.

Guerrero disagrees. 'Producing solar energy would be considerably cheaper in Africa, once the transport infrastructure has been built,' he says. 'And big companies have the means to obtain financing, if they really want to.'

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