Solution for all future energy needs? Solar Power – Part 2

German particle physicist Gerhard Knies’ project, Desertec is a largely German led initiative that aims to provide 15% of Europe’s electricity by 2050 through a vast network of solar and wind farms that will stretch across the MENA desert region (Middle East and North Africa). Taking advantage of the vast potential energy that the world’s deserts are exposed to on a daily basis, the solar farms will then be connected to continental Europe via a special, technologically advanced system of direct current transmission cables. These cables are reported to only lose about 3% of the electricity that they carry per 1000km, thus maximising energy efficiency.

The extent of solar energy provision is not limited to Europe and the MENA regions, however, and Desertec has big plans for the large scale project. It is argued that because 90% of the world’s population lives within 3,000km of deserts, Desertec’s overall reach is inclusive of the Americas, Australia and India.

Desertec is an exciting advance for those interested in solar energy and future energy sources. The timescale is ambitious with the first phase set to begin in Morocco next year* via the construction of a 500MW solar farm near to the desert city of Ouarzazate. The project will then expand with other countries such as Egypt and Syria linking up by 2020 onwards with the whole venture becoming financially self-sustaining by 2035.

However, the question remains that with the overall cost of the project estimated at £342bn, will the current economic climate provide a challenging hurdle for the project, or will the future of alternative energy prevail. For more information regarding the Desertec project see this interesting article in the Guardian online or go straight to the Desertec source.

Solution for all future energy needs? Solar power!

“The human race must finally utilise direct sun power or revert to barbarism,”
- Frank Shuman, 1914

In the past five years the renewable electricity sector has grown rapidly and now provides 20% of the world’s power generation. Many UK consumers are beginning to get on board with this development – installing PV panels on their rooftops to take advantage of solar power. As green energy becomes more of a reality – solar power and electricity become increasingly viable to several countries, not only on a consumer-by-consumer basis, but as one of the primary solutions for all of their current and future energy needs.

Targets are currently being set in many developing and developed countries. Bangladesh, for example, aims to meet 10% of the total power demands for its 150 million citizens through the use of solar energy by 2020. So far 870,000 citizens have benefitted from a program funded by the World Bank, which focuses on the installation of solar powered light systems.

Bangladesh isn’t the only country investing in solar energy; German particle physicist Gerhard Knies – a solar enthusiast who bluntly stated “we are really, as a species, so stupid” not to make better use of the sun as a resource for energy.

In 1986 Knies discovered that over a period of only six hours the world’s deserts receive more energy from the sun than humans consume in a year. This calculation in mind, Knies hypothesised that if even the smallest fraction of this mass of energy could be harnessed; an area of the Sahara desert equivalent to size of Wales could effectively power the whole of Europe.

Knies’ passion for solar energy questioned the possibility of the human race evolving past dirty and dangerous fuels forever – his answer took the form of a project called ‘Desertec’, and will be discussed in the continuation of this blog post.

Stay tuned to learn more about this exciting and ambitious project.