The Sahara as a source of electricity?
Post categories: My Reading
|17:41 UK time, Saturday, 8 August 2009
With much debate at the moment about global warming, reducing our carbon footprint and finding ways of generating clean electricity, I have mused that there must be a smarter way of solving this conundrum. One thought I have had for a long time (probably from when I first visited North Africa) was using solar power generated in the Sahara. Well, I was pleased to read in the Economist an article entitled - "The Start of Something Big"
This reported on the prospect of some big guns (Siemens, RWE, E.ON and Deutsche Bank) coming together to build a chain of solar panels across the Saraha that would be connected to Europe and satisfy up to 15% of demand by 2050. Have a look at the clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXURvISjh2A&feature=player_embedded to get an idea of this interesting concept.
As the Economist states, a bold proposal, but to me it makes a lot of sense. It was made all the more striking by the quote from Dr. Gerhard Knies who asserts that;- " within 6 hours deserts receive more energy from the sun than humankind consumes within a year" For more information look at the consortiums website Desertec
It is lateral thinking such as this, that we need to embrace and encourage, as well as investigate how we can make real some of the more unusual solutions to problems we face in our day to day routines at work.
Comment number 1.
At 19:31 7th Aug 2009, Scotch Get wrote:Please note the time and date this comment was posted.
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Comment number 2.
At 21:42 8th Aug 2009, fdp100 wrote:Chris,
The Desertec group has been working on this for some years. Whenever the price of oil goes up, interest is rekindled. The technology is a very simple one, reminding one of the schoolboy prank of using a magnifying glass to burn the back of your hand. A vast array of mirrors focus the sun's rays on a central tower where the heat produces steam in a series of pipes. The steam drives a steam turbine to generate electricity. There is a number of these systems operating in southern Spain and producing 50MW each. To produce useable energy from the Sahara, there has to be power cables build across the Med. Also there is the option to use the electricity to produce hydrogen, which will substitute for oil.
As you have pointed out, a large amount of sunlight falls on the Sahara. It has been calculated that 1.5% of the area of the world's deserts will produce all the electricity we need.
But its the usual oil paradox, when the price of oil is low we don't need this technology, when the price of oil is high we can't afford it. Only political will, will get us to where we are to where we should be in time!
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Comment number 3.
At 15:14 11th Aug 2009, Gates wrote:Its great to finally see big companies taking global warming seriously. They are the ones who's actions really can make a difference. When politicians see that big companies are prepared to take action, they might actually get around to enforcing it.
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Comment number 4.
At 16:31 11th Sep 2009, gribolo wrote:As always the world is talking about discovering new way of energy when normal ones are more expensive or in a risky position. All the World has to think proactively in order to make a big change, as Gates23 commented it is good to see that big companies are taking more seriously environment issues than before, It is not a game. thanks by [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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