Catching some rays: solar power in the Sahara

Where’s the most obvious place in the world to build a large-scale solar power station – the world’s largest, hottest desert of course.

In November, a project to generate solar energy in the Sahara desert was announced by a German-led consortium of 12 companies. The reason – more energy falls on the world's deserts in six hours than the world’s entire population consumes in a year.

The Desertec Industrial Initiative plans to supply 15% of Europe's power by 2050. Electricity from the plant could start trickling to some countries by as early as 2015.

Some of Germany's biggest companies, such as Deutsche Bank and Siemens, have jumped on board the US$570bn venture.

A network of plants and transmission grids will be built across the North African Sahara, as well as the Middle East. The first stage will be constructing massive solar energy fields in the Sahara.

But instead of installing solar panels – that convert light into electric current – the plants will use technology known as ‘concentrated solar power’.

CSP uses mirrors to focus the sun's rays on containers of water. The super heated liquid then drives turbines to generate electricity.

The advantage of this method over panels is that if sufficient hot water is stored in containers during the day, the generators can run all night – no sunshine required.

This is nothing new. There are CSP plants already up and running in Californian and Nevada. But it's the scale of the initiative that's a first, along with the ambitious plan to connect Africa to Europe using high voltage direct current cables.

These power lines can transport electricity over large distances, and crucially, with little loss.

Good news for Europe. But what about poor old Africa? The details are hazy but Desertec insists some of the power generated will also be used for domestic African consumers.

Morocco, who currently imports 96% of its energy, says it would generate enough power for themselves and export for the next 100 years.

The project has gained popularity within the German government. Chancellor Angela Merkel sees it as an opportunity to weaken the country's dependence on Russian gas supplies.

More than one-fifth of gas consumed in the European Union is carried from Russia through Ukraine in pipelines. A dispute between Russia and Ukraine in January 2009 led to Russia cutting off gas supplies, resulting in severe gas shortages for parts of Europe during the winter.

But it's not all sunshine and happiness. Critics have raised concerns about the hidden costs and potential problems from political instability in the region.

Desertec would need coordination between regional governments to succeed, and Saharan nations have tried and failed for two decades to integrate their economies and strengthen political relationships.

Relations between Algeria and Morocco have soured due to a dispute over the Western Sahara.

Algeria itself is a problem. It has the biggest chunk of desert and a private Algerian company, Cevital, has signed up with Desertec.

But the rule of law there is very weak, and the country is isolated and struggling to reform its economy after a brutal civil war in the 1990s.

There is also an ever-present risk to infrastructure posed by rebels aligned with Al Qaeda across the region.

But experts say the investment risks pose a far greater problem. Corruption, bureaucratic red tape, and the possibility of reneging on license agreements are more likely to put a spanner in the works.

The issue of economic viability has also been questioned. The price tag could end up being far greater than the $570bn sum being suggested. Desertec would need at least 20 efficient, direct-current cables – each costing up to $1 billion – to transmit electricity beneath the Mediterranean.

Some experts say CSP technology involves greater costs and risks than the clusters of small-scale solar panel installations that generate most of Europe’s solar energy today.

They believe falling prices for solar panels means the heavy infrastructure needed for CSP doesn’t make economic sense.

And whatever the technology used, solar power is still 10 times more expensive than old fashioned fossil fuel-generated electricity.

There is some speculation that costs could come down with utility rebates and climate change tax incentives. Some say the cost of solar panels and fossil fuel operation will become equal by 2020. However the CSP option will remain pricey.

Regardless of the debate, it's a bold initiative to take on while the world is only just crawling out of recession.

The companies involved claim they're waging war against climate change, and that to avoid an energy crisis – estimated to reach us in the next few decades – we have to start building now.

So will it be the answer to Europe's energy woes, or end up no more useful than a desert mirage? Here’s hoping it’s the former.

By Charlotte Whale

Photo – Small-scale concentrated solar power