Desertec

Desertec (Often: DESERTEC) is a non-profit foundation aimed at sustainably and ecologically producing electricity in sunny regions of the world. Sunny deserts are therefore the focus. The energy is intended to be used locally, but also exported to industrial regions, e.g., by means of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC). Energy partnerships are intended to enable development prospects. The concept for energy supply was developed by the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC), an international network of politicians, scientists, and economists. The Desertec Foundation emerged from this network and is a non-profit organization. Several scientific studies, including those from the German DLR, suggest that the concept is feasible and can provide ecological and economic benefits for both Europe and Africa. However, photovoltaic and solar thermal power plants were not economically able to compete with fossil fuels locally or in Europe in the early 2010s, causing delays in the project's implementation. After the price of solar thermal power plants and photovoltaics dropped significantly, initial pilot projects such as the Ouarzazate Power Plant (Al Noor Project, Morocco) and the Benban Solar Park (Egypt) were built.

Desertec (Often: DESERTEC) is a non-profit foundation aimed at sustainably and ecologically producing electricity in sunny regions of the world. Sunny deserts are therefore the focus. The energy is intended to be used locally, but also exported to industrial regions, e.g., by means of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC). Energy partnerships are intended to enable development prospects. The concept for energy supply was developed by the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC), an international network of politicians, scientists, and economists. The Desertec Foundation emerged from this network and is a non-profit organization. Several scientific studies, including those from the German DLR, suggest that the concept is feasible and can provide ecological and economic benefits for both Europe and Africa. However, photovoltaic and solar thermal power plants were not economically able to compete with fossil fuels locally or in Europe in the early 2010s, causing delays in the project's implementation. After the price of solar thermal power plants and photovoltaics dropped significantly, initial pilot projects such as the Ouarzazate Power Plant (Al Noor Project, Morocco) and the Benban Solar Park (Egypt) were built. ==History of DESERTEC Foundation== ===Dii GmbH=== The Dii Gmbh is a clean energy market enabler and industry network independent from the DESERTEC Foundation, which emerged from people and shareholders previously engaged with the Desertec Industrial Initiative. The Desertec Industrial Initiative was dissolved in its original form in 2014, after the withdrawal of most shareholders and the DESERTEC Foundation. The remaining shareholders reformed into the Dii GmbH, active from its base in Dubai (UAE) under the brandname of Dii Desert Energy (www.dii-desertenegy.org). The original Industrial Initiative, which was the precursor to the Dii GmbH was founded by 12 European companies led by Munich Re founded in Munich on 30 October 2009. The other companies included Deutsche Bank, E.ON, RWE, Abengoa. Originally the Industrial Initiative consisted of 17 associate partners: ABB Abengoa Solar ACWA Power Cevital Deutsche Bank Enel Green Power E.ON First Solar Flagsol HSH Nordbank Munich Re Nareva Red Eléctrica de España RWE Avancis Schott Solar Terna Terna Energy SA UniCredit State Grid Corporation of China At the end of 2014, most shareholders left Dii which has been described both as a "failure" and as a reorientation toward 'net zero emissions' in MENA and positioning MENA to become a major clean energy exporter. The reformed Dii GmbH was not able to convince most of the shareholders to join their venture. In 2026 about 110 international companies are partner of Dii's network. RWE, State Grid Corporation of China, ACWA Power and a number of partner companies joined the Dii GmbH and the company focuses on the new mission of accelerating the energy transition on the Arabian Peninsula. === Political Obstacles=== Some experts – such as Professor Tony Day, director of the Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Building at London South Bank University, Henry Wilkinson of Janusian Security Risk Management, and Wolfram Lacher of Control Risks consultancy – are concerned about political obstacles to the project. Generating so much of the electricity consumed in Europe and in Africa would create a political dependency on North African countries which had corruption before Arab Spring and a lack of cross-border coordination. Moreover, DESERTEC would require extensive economic and political cooperation between Algeria and Morocco, which is at risk as the border between the two countries is closed due to a disagreement over the Western Sahara, Inram Kada by EUMENA, is responsible for expediting the project. Cooperation between the states of Europe and the states of the Middle East and North Africa is also certain to be challenging. Large scale cooperation necessary between the EU and the North African nations the project may be delayed due to bureaucratic red tape and other factors such as expropriation of assets. There are also concerns that the water requirement for the solar plant to clean dust off panels and for turbine coolant may be detrimental to local populations in terms of the demand it will place on the local water supply. An EU innovation supported project however resulted in the development of a silicone based film with a nano-dendrite structure on it. The film is fused on top of the solar panels and the nano-dendrite structure makes that sand, water, salt, bacteria, molds, etc. can't attach to the photovoltaic panels. Opposed to this, studies point out the generation of fresh water by the solar thermal plants. Furthermore, no significant amount of water is needed for cleaning and cooling, since alternative technologies can be used (dry cleaning, dry cooling ). However, dry cooling is more expensive, technologically challenging and less efficient than the water cooling currently planned. Plans for water desalination for cooling purposes are not part of the DESERTEC business plan or cost estimates as proposed. The late Hermann Scheer (Eurosolar) pointed out that the doubled solar radiation in the Sahara can not be the only criterion especially with its continuous trade winds there . Transmitting energy over long distances has been criticized , with questions raised over the cost of cabling compared to energy generation, and over electricity losses. However, the study and current operating technology show that electricity losses using high-voltage direct current transmission amount to only 3% per 1,000 km (10% per 3,000 km). Investment may be required within Europe in a "supergrid". In response, one proposal is to cascade power between neighbouring states so that states draw on the power generation of neighbouring states rather than from distant desert sites. One key question will be the cultural aspect, as Middle Eastern and African nations may need assurance that they will own the project rather than it being imposed from Europe. ==Technology== ===Concentrated solar power=== ]] Concentrated solar power (also called concentrating solar power and CSP) systems use mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight, or solar thermal energy, onto a small area. Electrical power is produced when the concentrated light is converted to heat, which drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) connected to an electrical power generator. Molten salt can be employed as a thermal energy storage method to retain thermal energy collected by a solar tower or solar trough so that it can be used to generate electricity in bad weather or at night. Since solar fields feed their heat energy into a conventional generation unit with a steam turbine, they can be combined without any problem with fossil fuel hybrid power plants. This hybridisation secures energy supply also in unfavourable weather and at night without the need of accelerating costly compensatory plants. A technical challenge is the cooling which is necessary for every heating power system. Dii is therefore reliant either on an adequate water supply, coastal facilities or improved cooling technology. ===Photovoltaics=== Dii also considers photovoltaics (PV) as a technology suitable for desert power plants. Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material. Materials presently used for photovoltaics include monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide/sulfide. Driven by advances in technology and increases in manufacturing scale and sophistication, the cost of photovoltaics has declined steadily since the first solar cells were manufactured. In 2010, First Solar, a producer of thin film solar panels, joined Dii as associated partner. The US based company already has experience with huge PV installations, and has constructed the 550 megawatt Desert Sunlight Solar Farm and Topaz Solar Farm in California, which are the biggest two PV installations of the world. ===Wind energy=== As also parts of the desert regions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) come with high wind potential, Dii is examining in which geographic regions the installation of wind farms is suitable. Wind turbines produce electricity by wind turning the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator which produces electricity. The Sahara Desert is one of the windiest areas on the planet, especially on the western coast where lies the Atlantic coastal desert along Western Sahara and Mauritania. The annual average wind speed at the ground greatly exceeds 5 m/s in most of the desert, and even approach 8 m/s or 9 m/s along the western ocean coast. It's important to note that wind speed increases with height. The regularity and the constancy of winds in arid regions are major assets for wind energy, too. The winds blow nearly constantly over the desert and there are generally no windless days throughout the year. Therefore, the desert of North Africa is also an ideal location to install large-scale wind parks and wind turbines with good productivity. ===High-voltage direct current (HVDC)=== To export renewable energy produced in the MENA desert region, a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system is needed. High Voltage DC (HVDC) technology is a proven and economical method of power transmission over long distances and also a trusted method to connect asynchronous grids or grids of different frequencies. With HVDC energy can also be transported in both directions. For long-distance transmission HVDC suffers lower electrical losses than alternating current (AC) transmission. Because of the higher solar radiation in MENA, the production of energy, even with the included transmissions losses, is still advantageous over the production in South Europe. Also long distance projects have already been realised with technological cooperation from ABB and Siemens – both shareholders of Dii; namely the 800 kV HVDC Xiangjiaba-Shanghai transmission system, which was commissioned by State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) in June 2010. The HVDC link is the most powerful and longest transmission of its kind to be implemented anywhere in the world; and at the time of commissioning, transmitted 6,400 MW of power over a distance of nearly 2,000 kilometres. This is longer than would be needed to link MENA and Europe. Siemens Energy has equipped the sending converter station Fulong for this link with ten DC converter transformers, including five rated at 800 kV. The second HVDC project which is also for SGCC with cooperation from ABB, is a new HVDC link of 3,000 MW over 920 kilometres from Hulunbeir, in Inner Mongolia, to Shenyang in the province of Liaoning in the North-Eastern part of China in 2010. Another project scheduled for 2014 commissioning – is the construction of an ±800 kV North-East UHVDC link from the North-Eastern and Eastern region of India to the city of Agra across a distance of 1,728 kilometres. Another project of this type is the Rio Madeira HVDC system a HVDC link of . ===DLR studies=== The DESERTEC Concept was developed by an international network of politicians, academics and economists, called TREC. The research institutes for renewable sources of the governments of Morocco (CDER), Algeria (NEAL), Libya (CSES), Egypt (NREA), Jordan (NERC) and Yemen (Universities of Sana'a and Aden) as well as the German Aerospace Center (DLR) made significant contributions towards the development of the DESERTEC Concept. The basic studies relating to DESERTEC were led by DLR scientist Dr. Franz Trieb working for the Institute for Technical Thermodynamics at the DLR. The three studies were funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU). The studies, conducted between 2004 and 2007, evaluated the following as shown in the table below; The studies concluded that the extremely high solar radiation in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East outweighs the 10–15% transmission losses between the desert regions and Europe. This means that solar thermal power plants in the desert regions are more economical than the same kinds of plants in southern Europe. The German Aerospace Center has calculated that if solar thermal power plants were to be constructed in large numbers in the coming years, the estimated cost of electricity would come down from 0.09 to 0.22 euro/kWh to about 0.04–0.05 euro/kWh. The Sahara Desert was chosen as an ideal location for solar farms as it is exposed to bright sunshine nearly all the time, roughly between 80% and 97% of the daylight hours in the best cases. This is the sunniest year-round area on the planet. In the world's largest hot desert, there is an extremely vast area, covering almost the whole desert, that receives more than 3,600 h of yearly sunshine. There is also a large area in excess of 4,000 h of sunshine annually. The highest solar radiation received on the planet is in the Sahara Desert, under the Tropic of Cancer. This results from a general, strong lack of cloud cover year-round and a geographical position under the tropics. The annual average insolation, which represents the total amount of solar radiation energy received on a given area and on a giver period, is about 2,500 kWh/(m 2 year) over the region and this number can soar up to almost 3,000 kWh/(m 2 year) in the best cases. The weather features of the Sahara Desert, especially the insolation, have a pronounced nature. The annual electricity production reaches 1,300,000 TWh at maximum in this sun-drenched area if the whole desert is covered in solar panels. The desert is also extremely vast covering about some 9,000,000 km 2 (3,474,920 sq mi), being almost as large as China or the United States and is sparsely populated, making it possible to set up large solar farms without a negative impact on inhabitants of the region, too. Lastly, sand deserts can provide silicon, a raw material that is essential in the production of solar panels. The great African desert is relatively cloud-free all year long but it's important to note the harsh, desert climate also has some negative features such as extreme heat and sometimes dust or sand-laden winds which frequently blow over the desert and can even result in severe duststorms or sandstorms. Both phenomenons reduce the solar electricity productivity and the efficiency of the solar panels. ===Desert Power 2050=== Dii announced it would introduce a roll-out-plan in late 2012 which included concrete recommendations on how to enable investments in renewable energy and interconnected power grids. Dii claims to work with all key stakeholders from the international scientific and business communities as well as policy-makers and civil society to enable two or three concrete reference projects to demonstrate the feasibility of the long-term vision. Dii developed a strategic framework for a fully integrated and decarbonized power system based on renewable energies for the entire North Africa, Middle East, and Europe (EUMENA) region in 2050. Therefore, Dii researched from the viewpoint of technology and geography what is the optimal mix of renewable energies to provide the EUMENA region with sustainable energy. In July 2012 Dii presented the first part of its study "Desert Power 2050 – Perspectives on a Sustainable Power System for EUMENA. Key Findings Desert Power 2050 demonstrates that the abundance of sun and wind in the EUMENA region will enable the creation of a joint power network that will entail more than 90 percent renewables. According to the study, such a joint power network involving North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe (EUMENA) offers clear benefits to all involved. The nations of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) could meet their expanding needs for power with renewable energy, while developing an export industry from their excess power which could reach an annual volume worth more than 60 billion euros, according to the study results. By importing up to 20 percent of its power from the deserts, Europe could save up to 30 euros for each megawatt-hour of desert power. The north and south would become the powerhouses of this joint network, supported by wind and hydropower in Scandinavia, as well as wind and solar energy in the MENA region. Supply and demand would complement one other – both regionally and seasonally – according to the findings of Desert Power 2050. With its constant supply of wind and solar energy throughout the year, the MENA region can cover Europe's energy needs without the latter having to build costly excess capacities. A further benefit of the power network is the enhanced security of supply to all nations concerned. A renewables-based network would lead to mutual reliance among the countries involved, complemented by inexpensive imports from the south and the north. Methodology Desert Power 2050 presents the full perspective of the EUMENA region, which includes, for instance, the growing consumption of power in the MENA states. The power requirements of the MENA states are likely to more than quadruple by 2050, totalling more than 3000 terawatt hours. Unlike in Europe, the population will also grow considerably by the middle of the century, thus heightening the demand for new jobs. Analysing the design of a power system built to include more than 90% renewables 40 years into the future is necessarily subject to major uncertainties on a range of assumptions. To address these uncertainties Dii analysed so-called sensitivities, or perspectives, to show how the results react to changed parameters. Dii has analysed a total of 18 perspectives on the EUMENA power supply in 2050. They cover a wide range of major impact factors on the attractiveness of power system integration. The main message of the study: grid integration across the Mediterranean is valuable under all foreseeable circumstances. Second Phase Desert energy could be a stimulus for growth and make an important contribution when it comes to coping with the social and economic challenges in North Africa and the Middle East. Dii announced that a second phase of Desert Power 2050, Getting Started, will examine this topic in greater depth in the next few months, with discussions including political, scientific and industrial stakeholders. The objective is to formulate recommendations for the regulatory steps required in the years to come. ===Other studies=== More energy falls on the world's deserts in six hours than the world consumes in a year, and the Saharan desert is virtually uninhabited and is close to Europe. Supporters say that the project will keep Europe "at the forefront of the fight against climate change and help North African and European economies to grow within greenhouse gas emission limits". DESERTEC officials say the project could one day deliver 15 percent of Europe's electricity and a considerable part of MENA's electricity demand. According to the DESERTEC Foundation, the project has strong job creation potential and could improve the stability in the region. According to the report by Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy and the Club of Rome, the project could create 240,000 German jobs and generate €2 trillion worth of electricity by 2050. ==See also== Medgrid European super grid Intermittent energy source List of HVDC projects North Sea Offshore Grid Renewable energy in Morocco Relative cost of electricity generated by different sources Solar energy in Israel Solel SuperSmart Grid Wind power in Morocco SunCable Australia - Singapore ==References== ==External links== Dii GmbH

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