African solar power to power Europe?

Timon Singh

The Desertec Project has been touted as a way that solar power from the Sahara could be used to power continents, but with new plans for a €400 billion super-grid to link Europe, Africa and the Middle East in order that the regions can benefit from each others renewable power sources, could the Sahara power Europe?

Solar projects have been gaining support in both the Middle East and Africa and it is hoped that by implementing a smart-grid system, Europe will be able to benefit from the renewable sources. Wind and solar energy plants planned in Bahrain could potentially produce 5MW a year, and this energy would be transferred into the grid and distributed to where it is needed.

When it comes to integrating renewables into a super-grid, there are many issues to deal with. The problem with putting clean energy onto any existing grid, without it being adequately integrated with other forms of power or optimized as a reliable first-tier energy source, would act as 'grid congestion' and has been the main barrier to full utilization. On top of that, potential renewable variability could cause reliability challenges at relatively high levels of distribution.

However a new super or smart grid could change that. In fact, it has the potential and the aim of providing 15 percent or more of Europe, Africa and the Middle East's electricity needs with solar power by 2050.

African solar power increasing

At the heart of the proposed smart-grid is the Desertec Industrial Initiative, which is a US$550 billion plan to develop "a reliable, sustainable and climate-friendly energy supply" in North Africa's Sahara desert capable of providing the entire MENA region with energy as well as the EU.

Of course the idea of such a massive project sounds sounds impractical and when the project was first announced in July 2009, it was dismissed as being "unrealistic" and even exploitative. However Desertec have stated that the project has the ability to provide 15 percent of Europe's electricity by 2050, and that has made many people sit up and listen.

The concept behind Desertec is using concentrated 'African' solar power (CSP) that would allow generators to run at night, thus enabling production of electricity "on demand", like in conventional power stations. While this is not a new concept, it has never been done on the scale that Desertec proposes.

The idea is that CSP systems, photovoltaic systems as well as wind parks would be located on 6500 square miles (17,000 km2) in the Sahara Desert enabling for a massive super grid of voltage. This large area in Africa, would essentially enable the continent to power Europe.

While you can't fault its scale, you can criticise the price tag - US$550 billion is a steep price and as such, the Desertec Industrial Initiative is being developed by a consortium of European and Algerian companies, under the name DII GmbH, in order to finance it.

Despite the cost, the consortium is welcoming investment and it is arguably quite a sound proposal, after all the potential economic pulling power of the Sahara solar project could eventually prevail, due to CSP being cheaper than traditional PV solar farms.

There is also the added benefits of no fuel costs and a lifetime of at least 40 years. Plus if the farm is the size of the one proposed, it could produce seven times more power than one in Germany.

Concentrated solar plants in Africa are becoming more and more prevalent, and research by the German Aerospace Centre shows that concentrated African solar power plants in MENA will be capable of producing up to 470,000MW by the year 2050. In Egypt, a 150 megawatt solar thermal plant is being constructed which is seen as a template for a series of Middle East and North Africa solar farms to be included in the Desertec project.

Last month, a study from international consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers stated that Europe and North Africa could achieve "complete independence" from fossil fuels by 2050 and that all the technologies necessary were already in place. The initiative has given itself three years to set up a policy framework within the European Union and the Middle East and Northern Africa to adequately fund and transport renewable energy from Africa to Europe.

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