Parabolic trough power plants in Africa
will provide solar power to Germany.

Solar Millennium

Saharan solar power plants to deliver energy in ten years

A group of twenty large concerns plans to provide German households with solar energy from Africa, according to a report in Munich’s Süddeutsche Zeitung. For the spectacular project, the companies plan to join forces in July to form a consortium including the Munich Re Group, Siemens, Deutsche Bank and RWE. The construction of gargantuan solar power plants in the Sahara will cost 400 billion euros and begin delivering power in ten years.

The project seeks to tap the immense energy potential in the desert south of the Mediterranean Sea. Solar power plants would be possible at various locations in North Africa, explains Munich Re CEO Torsten Jeworrek in an interview with the Süddeutsche. Plans call for parabolic trough power plants like those in the Spanish province of Grenada (Andasol Project). The plants bundle solar power via mirrors, heat a special oil, and transfer this heat to steam to drive turbines; this distinguishes these plants from photovoltaic plants, which produce electric power directly.

The consortium has set high goals in terms of capacity. Some 15% of power for Europe could be covered with the project’s planned investment volume, states Jeworrek. The concerns, which will also be pursuing outside capital, hope for a good investment despite their lack of experience in the field. In the long range, the project is to achieve financial independence. At the onset, the project will naturally need certain investment security, such as a purchase commitment with a price guarantee, says Jeworrek. However, this power would not receive long-range subventions. Sahara power would become competitive within 10 to 15 years.

Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung