Preamble
Many conflicts in the world today are related to the control and domination of energy resources, especially fossil fuels: Iraq vs. the world, Afghanistan as an access route to fields afar, Russia vs, Georgia, The Niger delta, ….
The sun cannot be dammed or cornered for the benefit of a region, company or individual. It shines for all, and anybody with the means is free to use it as he or she wishes. It is also virtually limitless.
Recent developments in solar energy have demonstrated that the ability to generate one’s own power from the sun translates into great freedom and progress, besides being a welcome relief to our environment. The idea of decentralization is seriously challenging the position of energy conglomerates globally.
Is Desertec an expensive attempt to restore the role of the central power company and to draw geopolitical boundaries around the greatest free resource on earth?
So, What’s Desertec?
Desertec is a project involving the construction of a network of solar-thermal electricity generation plants in the deserts of North Africa. High Voltage Direct Current transmission technology via underground and undersea cabling will deliver the electricity to Western European grids on the other side of the Mediterrenean Sea.
Map of the Sahara and Western Europe showing planned power grid.
Once up and running, the project plans to supply up to 15% of Europe’s needs and also serve lands from which the power originates.
The initial price tag on this project is €400 billion.
The genesis of the project was the founding of the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) in 2003, an initiative of The Club of Rome, the Jordanian National Energy Research Center NERC, and the Hamburg Climate Protection Foundation HKF.
Who’s Desertec?
While German multinationals dominate the list, the project is backed by an awe-inspiring collective of founders and sponsors, all with strong global history and presence in the Energy field:
- ABB - Sweden & Switzerland
- ABENGOA Solar – Spain
- Cevital - Algeria
- Deutsche Bank- Germany
- E.ON – Germany
- HSH Nordbank – Germany
- MAN Solar Millennium- Germany
- Munich Re – Germany
- M+W Zander – Austria
- RWE -Germany
- SCHOTT Solar – Germany
- SIEMENS – Germany
On the other side of the Miditerreanen, the list of committed Middle-East and Africa (MENA) participants is not yet entirely clear, but is expected to include Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Yemen, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Desertec has campaigned remarkably well to market its project; it is all over the web! According to their site, endorsements have been obtained from many quarters, including Greenpeace in a document entitled Global Concentrating Solar Power Outlook 2009.
I found no explicit endorsement of the Desertec concept on the Greenpeace site or in the document. The Greenpeace paper is an appraisal of CSP technology in general, which I believe can be applied in local and small-scale projects.
Critics and detractors
The foremost critic of the Desertec project today is Dr. Hermann Scheer, German Social Democratic deputy and the man most credited with German’s success in the renewable energy field.
Dr. Hermann Scheer
Dr. Scheer is a strong proponent of decentralization of power. He has worked tirelessly to encourage the use of grid-tied PV systems and legislating generous feed-in tariffs that have made solar power an attractive option in Germany. Thanks to his efforts and those of other like him, the global market for PV panels and related products has grown tremendously, as witnessed in the 24th PV Conference and Exhibition in Hamburg (see previos blog).
The German approach has been emulated in many other countries with similar results.
[Significant note here: Dr. Herman favours photovoltaics, which turn light into electrical energy, while the proponents of Desertec, led by Dr. Gerhard Knies, mainly come from the world of CSP (Concentrated Solar Power), a technology that harnesses the heat of the sun.]
So, on which points does Dr. Scheer fault Desertec?
In an article entitled European power from the desert is a Fata Morgana, Dr. Scheer asserts that:
- Inherently Eurocentric, Destertec aims to feed European power hunger instead of helping Africa attain energy self-sufficiency;
- The €400 billion price-tag is extremely high, and planners understate the true price of infrastructure to Europe;
- The projected 15% of European power demand Desertec intends to fill could easily be met through existing technology and infrastructure. He cites the German success: since 2000, that same 15% has been achieved with a mere €80 billion;
- Merits of decentralization have been demonstrated, while Desertec will result in base-power stations under controle of governments or multinational companies, a model that has vulnerabilities and negative implications for consumers;
- The common desire of German municipalities is to work towards “100 per cent electricity supply generated from local and regional sources by 2030 at the latest”. The Renewable Energy Sources Act is already in place to ensure the success of the decentralization movement;
- The ability of producers in a centralized system to pass added value on to the consumer is not guaranteed by Desertec, versus the benefits of localised generation, where the value added directly accrues to the local producers.
Is this the voice of a man defending his political territory and technological preferences to the hilt, or that of a sincere believer in affordable solar power for ALL? I hope that the latter case holds true, and that he can help achieve the results he has achieved in Germany in Africa and Kenya!
Desertec has a response to Dr. Scheer on their website.
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Part 2 will examine the geo-political implications of Desertec, and what it all means to those below the Sahara desert.
