DESERTEC : an exciting green project
By Cédric Pierre-Louis on Thursday 11 March 2010, 19:11 - Green friendly - Permalink
Few months ago, when I was still a junior lobbyist in Brussels, I heard about an amazing project related to renewable energies. This umpteenth new project sounded like an utopia. Conceived by the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC), an international network of scientists and politicians aiming to solve Europe's energy problem, the well-named DESERTEC, seemed to be the craziest green project I ever heard. "Their vision is to turn desert sun into electricity, thereby harnessing inexhaustible, clean and affordable energy. Under their scheme, so-called parabolic trough collectors collect sunlight like a magnifying glass, the heat is then used to turn water into steam, which drives turbines that produce electricity".
The technology involved in DESERTEC is called Concentrating solar power (CSP) and sounds quite simple and affordable nowadays. Solar thermal power plants have operated successfully in California since the 1980s. Unfortunately, the technology has been held back, because oil, gas and coal have been far cheaper sources of energy... until now. So thanks to the dramatic increase of fossil fuel prices, solar thermal power becomes "trendy" once again. Thus, Spain is also investing in CSP. In the province of Granada, the biggest solar thermal power plant in Europe is being built.
The video below is a must see for those who want to know more about this impressive (but already controversial) project, mainly led by a core of top German companies such as SIEMENS.
The left square, labelled "world," is around the size of Austria. If that area were covered in solar thermal power plants, it could produce enough electricity to meet world demand. The area in the center would be required to meet European demand. The one on the right corresponds to Germany's energy demand.
A north-south divide: Europe has little sun, but needs a lot of energy. In North Africa and the Middle East the reverse is true. Solar thermal power plants can still produce electricity even if the sun is not shining. The sun's heat can be captured in salt storage tanks and used to drive turbines at night.
As a side benefit, the arid countries of North Africa and the Middle East could use some of the energy they produce to power salt water desalination plants, which could produce much-needed drinking water. I am looking forward to see DESERTEC turns from dream to reality. All the more so, I am more and more interested in the energy sector and green IT issues. So attracted that I am looking for a significant professional experience in this sector or a serious professional training for being energy manager. I also think that ICT and renewable energies can create profitable synergy... Don't you agree?