MaureenWriting for the Guardian, author Kate Connolly reports on a 2009 meeting between twenty German blue chip companies hoping to pool their resources in an effort to come up with a workable solar energy plan using the north african desert. The premise seems optimistic at first glance. The article mentions a claim made by the European Commission’s Institute for Energy stating that if just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle Eastern deserts could be harnessed, Europe’s energy needs could essentially be met. Upon hearing the proposed methodology however the glow seems to fade. The plan calls for building several large power plants in the deserts, monumental tasks in themselves, and then a giant DC line to carry the garnered power across the thousands of miles to Europe. Having spent considerable time in one desert of the middle east I can attest to the logistical nightmares of such a proposition and was relieved to see that the author included the opinions of Hermann Scheer, president of Eurosolar, who echoed my thoughts in the writing. With my trepidations out in the air, I still have to confess I was impressed to hear that such an operation was being considered seriously by real business with investor backing. It is becoming more and more clear that we have to find another way to provide our growing population with the quality of life it has come to expect once fossil fuels cease to be efficient. If not for environmental reasons, than simply for pragmatic ones.
Filed under: Conservation, Energy, Reading Response, Spring 2011
