Experts hail Sahara-Europe solar plan

FRANKFURT – Far-sighted plans to energise Europe by tapping solar power from the sweltering Sahara desert offer bright prospects but must not overshadow renewable sources closer to home, experts say.

German deputy environment minister Matthias Machnig said solar systems behind the 400-billion-euro (US$560 billion) project, launched in Germany on Monday, had ‘enormous potential.’The Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) is powered by 12 mostly German companies from the engineering, energy and finance sectors but has also won support from firms in Algeria and Spain and from officials in Egypt and Jordan.The project, scheduled for completion in 2050, would install solar power generators across North Africa and the Middle East and share the electricity between host countries and their private partners.The technique, called solar thermal electrical generation (STEG), uses reflected sun rays to heat fluid-filled tubes, creating steam that drives a generator.The plan also includes water desalinisation plants for host nations.Greenpeace spokesman Andree Boehling said: ‘We support and welcome this initiative’ and forecast that ‘around a quarter of the global electricity supply could come from solar electricity in deserts.’Matthias Fawer, who covers sustainable energy for the private Swiss bank Sarasin, told AFP the initiative was ‘a visionary concept’ but noted it was not the only solution.’I wouldn’t bet on one horse,’ he said, adding that it was also important to develop wind energy parks in the North Sea and geo-thermal plants in places where that was appropriate.’It’s the combination that is viable and makes renewable energy so strong,’ Fawer said.Greenpeace called the Desertec initiative ‘another building block’ for the future but said it was ‘not an alternative to decentralised technologies like photo-voltaic or wind energy.’The environmental group calls for a combination of such energy sources with centralised ones including offshore wind turbines and hydro-electric power from Scandinavia.German Social Democratic deputy Hermann Scheer also preferred decentralised European sources to a massive project in the hands of major corporations.But Fawer backed the idea of helping North Africa, a major source of European immigrants.’We need to support this continent,’ he stressed. ‘Europe and Africa should work much closer together.’Jordan’s Prince Hassan ibn Talal agreed when the project was unveiled on Monday.Partnerships formed through the work ‘will open a new chapter in relations between the people of the European Union, West Asia and North Africa,’ he was quoted by a statement as saying.A study by Desertec, Greenpeace and the Wuppertal environmental research institute said the project could create two million jobs. Desertec spokesman Tim Hufermann said 80 per cent of the electricity would power producer countries.The remainder should satisfy 15 per cent of Europe’s needs, he added.Critics say few jobs would be created in host countries however, and the business daily Handelsblatt warned against fostering ‘eco-colonialism.’ The massive project would cover 6 000 square kilometres, including 2 500 for power plants and 3 500 for the distribution grid.’They are already building plants’ in Egypt, Spain and Tunisia that could be integrated into the network, Hufermann noted.Desertec has put the initial start-up cost at around 10 billion euros.Beyond the massive cost, a potential obstacle is the possibility of regional instability, which the group hopes to avoid by increasing the number of host nations and encouraging their economic development.Solar-generated electricity is also expensive, and some question whether local populations can afford it.Greenpeace called for initially subsidised prices and said development of the technology would eventually make it cheaper than conventional sources.- NampaAFP