Africa has got its fair share of natural resources, but the obvious natural phenomenon of Africa has not led to economic success. Africa is hot, with sun-dried soil creating tough conditions for agriculture. But the sun could prove the continents’ saviour, and rid the world from global warming to boot, or so suggests a report from the German Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation.
Apparently, if we were to cover five percent of the world’s hot deserts with something called ‘concentrated solar power’ then we could meet the planet’s entire electricity needs. “Every year, each square kilometre of desert receives solar energy equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of oil. Multiplying by the area of deserts world-wide, this is nearly a thousand times the entire current energy consumption of the world.” said Dr Franz Trieb, Project Manager.
The technology has further benefits too, potentially creating the possibility of farming where once there was desert. A by product of the process of solar power is desalinated water which can be used to irrigate land near by, and the giant mirrors used to trap the sun’s energy provide shade.
“The cost of collecting solar thermal energy equivalent to one barrel of oil is about US$50 right now (already less than the current world price of oil) and is likely to come down to around US$20 in future,” added Dr Trieb.
The good doctor also said: “Contrary to what is commonly supposed, it is entirely feasible and cost-effective to transmit solar electricity over long distances. With modern high-voltage DC transmission lines (HVDC), only about 3% of the power is lost for each 1000 km. In round figures, this means that solar electricity could be imported from North Africa to London with only about 10% loss of power. This compares extremely favourably with the 50% to 70% of losses that have been accepted for many years in conventional coal-fired power stations.”
For further information
Power from desertsTrans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation
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