Europe to get powered by solar panels placed in the Sahara
16 June 2009 | Solar Power | 15 Comments
In the perspective of a “greener” future, today’s projects bring us closer to that reality and make big promises: covering only a small portion of the Sahara dessert, having a probable size of a regular European country, with solar cells will potentially provide the whole of the European continent with electricity. That is what Anthony Patt, of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, in Austria, declared at the International Scientific Congress on climate change under the title “Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions”, held at the University of Copenhagen in March this year.
In regard to the latest developments in solar technologies , the North of Africa seems a viable source for Europe’s increasing demands for energy. The challenge is to get the level of alternative, renewable energy sources to 20 percent by 2020. With an investment of 50 billion euros for the next 10 years, explained Dr. Patt, the project will reveal its attractiveness and efficiency to the private investors.
The plan also evolves building wind farms along the North African coastline, which is very effective because of the powerful winds generated by the hot dessert soil during the summers from Africa. The only problem that still need to be overcome is the challenge of overcoming political difficulties, for example the people who argue with the installation of transmission cables near their homes.
Another great design is The Sahara Forest Project (showed in the picture above). It involves turning a part of the Sahara dessert into a source of water, energy and food. The main components are the Concentrated solar powers and Seawater Greenhouses. The Seawater Greenshouses will be responsible for converting sea water into clean water using the sunlight(water runs trough in-wall cavities then air is pumped trough them and get condensed to create clean, healthy water). The Concentrated solar power is a technology that uses thousands of mirrors to focus the sun rays upon a water boiler reaching temperatures of over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The steam that is generated through the process drives a turbine to produce energy.
Which of this projects will finally find its success is for time to tell.
Tags: anthony patt, Clean Water, energy, Green Technology, mirrors, sahara, Solar cells, solar panels, turbine, wind farms
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This sounds like a really good idea. What better place can you think of to produce solar energy than a desert? The only problem I can see with it is the sand coating the service of the cells.
However, you can always just clean them off so its not that big of a problem based from the benefits it provides…
Nice reading. Thanks!
Yes heard about this. This could really mean energy independence for the EU!
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They should be harnessing the sun’s power from all the deserts.
Was that the solar system showed in the movie “the Sahara” ??
Wow, check that out!
Nice reading. Thanks!
Yes heard about this. This could really mean energy independence for the EU!
Thanks for the terrific read! I will pass it along.
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