The inspirational DESERTEC foundation has recently received a boost to its program from a consortium of German energy companies dedicated to constructing enormous solar thermal plants in North Africa.
DESERTEC itself is a foundation set up to support, assist and advise all those interested in developing energy projects in global deserts. DESERTEC’s Founder Dr Gerhard Knies states “Within 6 hours deserts receive more energy from the sun than humankind consumes within a year”.
One of DESERTEC’s major stakeholders is TREC, the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Corporation, whose goals are to supply European energy demands by harnessing the enormous solar energy potential within North Africa.
The German consortium including around 20 major energy and financial groups such as Siemens, Deutsche Bank and Munich Re, intend on investing up to €400bn on developing solar thermal energy projects in the most politically stable regions of North Africa. It is believed that over the course of ten years, the ultimate potential could be to provide up to 15% of Europe’s total energy demands.
Fingers crossed for an incredibly ambitious project that could have significant impact on reduction of Carbon Dioxide from alternative coal-fired power stations.
