Sahara sun could power Europe ... if anyone has a spare $100 billion

Canberra Times
Friday 13/3/2009 Page: 12

European countries could transform their electricity supplies within a decade by investing in a giant network of solar panels in the Sahara desert, an expert told the global warming conference in Copenhagen. Anthony Patt, of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Africa, said some ￡50 billion ($A107 billion) of government investment was needed over the next decade to make the scheme a reality.

That would convince private companies that power from the Sahara was both feasible and an attractive investment, he said. In the long term, such a plan, combined with strings of windfarms along the north African coast, could "supply Europe with all the energy it needs". He said technological advances combined with falling costs had made it realistic to consider north Africa as Europe's main source of imported energy. "The sun is very strong there and it's very reliable.

There is starting to be a growing number of cost estimates of both wind and concentrated solar energy for North Africa ... that start to compare favourably with alternative technologies. "The cost of moving [electricity] long distances has really come down." Only a fraction of the Sahara, probably the size of a small country, would need to be covered to produce enough energy to supply the whole of Europe, he said.

The results are the first findings of a research effort, together with experts at the European Climate Forum and the Potsdaan Institute for Climate Impact Research, to judge whether such a Sahara solar plan is realistic. Dr Patt said the team was looking at questions of security and governance, as well as ways to pay for the technology.

The fall results will be presented to governments this year. He said sunshine in the Sahara was twice as strong as in Spain and was a constant resource rarely blocked by clouds, even in winter. The scheme would use mirrors to focus the son's rays on to a thin pipe containing either water or salt.

The rays would boil the water or melt the salt and the resulting energy would power turbines. Unlike wind energy, which usually has to be used immediately because of the cost of storing the electricity generated, the hot water and salt can be stored for several hours. Trials of such concentrated solar energy plants are planned for Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Dubai, but Libya and Tunisia could also be considered.

Dr Patt said starting such a scheme would not be all plain sailing. There would probably be opposition from local communities across Europe unhappy about transmission cables installed near their homes. Piecemeal national transmission networks could also pose a big problem.