World's largest solar energy project planned for Africa desert

www.telegraph.co.uk
15 Dec 2009

British homes could soon be powered by "desert electricity", according to backers of a large solar energy project in the Sahara that will overtake current sites in Spain. The Desertec Foundation Industrial Initiative (DII) group claims a network of solar plants in north Africa harnessing the sun's rays will be the biggest in the world, dwarfing the current largest installation already running at Andasol in southern Spain. Planners hope the project will eventually provide 15 per cent of Europe's electricity by 2050, together with similar amounts of electricity for countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

It is thought the energy demands of the world could be met by covering as little as one per cent of the world's deserts. Dr Gerry Wolff, coordinator of Desertec Foundation-UK, a group of British investors in the project, said: "Within five years people in the UK could start to use desert electricity that has been produced in the Sahara. "Householders will be able to say they are making a cup of tea with energy collected from the African sun. "The consortium of businesses needs to talk to the relevant governments and there will be a need to make changes to laws and regulations to smooth the path for these developments.

"An important point that must be stressed is that the electricity will be for people throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. If everyone is benefiting, this will help the project to run smoothly. "Much of the project depends on the good will of the people living in the countries where we will collect the sunshine." The DII group hopes to begin building the huge solar plants within three years and delivering energy by 2015. Instead of using photovoltaic solar panels that absorb the sun's blistering rays, hundreds of giant mirrors would instead reflect the light and concentrate it – firing the sunbeams at a focal point, such as a tower next to the field of mirrors.

Such technology is already at work at the PS10 and PS20 CSP plants near Seville in Spain. Dr Wolff added: "Because it is relatively cheap and easy to store solar heat, a CSP plant can carry on generating electricity at night – something that is not so easy to do with photovoltaic solar panels." The full list of businesses who have joined the consortium are ABB, Cevital, Deutsche Bank, E.ON, HSH Nordbank, MAN Solar Millennium, Munich Re, M&W Zander, RWE, Schott Solar, and Siemens.