African Solar Could Power all of Europe
Mediterranean Union was launched by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy in concurrence with the European Union. This new international organization will include sixteen non-EU states from around the Mediterranean and all the twenty seven EU countries will be its member too. But why are we discussing political unions in an alternative energy site? Because Mediterranean Union will not only tackle various issues such as regional upheavals, trade, counter terrorism, security immigration pollution etc. but the organization will take up the energy issue too.
As usual people are reacting in skeptical manner saying that Sarkozy wants to trade nuclear power expertise with North African gas reserves. But some are thinking in a positive way too, for instance, the possibilities of solar energy generation. They think that the Union can help a lot in trapping the solar potential of the African nations and transferring that energy to Europe. Scientists from the various European countries are planning for a new supergrid on the sharing basis for member states. The supergrid will use new DC (HVDC- high voltage direct current) lines for the transmissions of power over long distances. Energy losses in DC lines are far less than the AC lines. Denmark and UK can export wind energy and Iceland can export geothermal energy whenever they have surplus energy. But the supergrid’s main function would be to send out renewable solar energy from the Saharan desert to Europe. The scientists want to build a series of huge solar farms in the Saharan desert and connect them to the supergrid.
The grid proposal was seconded by Nicholas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown. This proposal tries to answer the skeptics who claim that renewable power will never be economically viable because the weather is quite unpredictable. This proposal tries to cancel out that element of unpredictability if the wind is not blowing hard enough in the North Sea, it will be blowing somewhere else in Europe, or the sun will be shining on a solar farm somewhere.
Scientists are enthusiastic about harnessing the Sahara solar rays because the sunlight in this area is more intense: solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in northern Africa could generate up to three times the electricity compared with similar panels in northern Europe. The project will take huge investment in terms of time and money. The estimated cost would be €450 billion. By 2050 scientists are thinking of generating 100 GW from the Saharan desert. Much of the money will be used in developing the infrastructure for grid networks. If high voltage cables between North Africa and Italy would be built or existing cables between Spain and Morocco would be used, the infrastructure of these countries too will need restructuring.
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August 23rd, 2008
The Sahara desert will be the greates energy source to Europe, not only energy from light of the sun, infrared, x rays, ultraviolet too, and the energy that come as particles (ions)
August 25th, 2008
The grid will obviously be as close to the communities as possible And this would be a good incentive for businesses where here they would find the cheapest of electricity.
Apart from that enterprises could start operating Hydrogen fuel plants to then distribute this liquid for other countries. The idea of an extended would lead to too much waste by the time the electricity arrives to destination.
September 8th, 2008
Sounds good so long as at least half the energy goes to Africa first.
September 17th, 2008
Solarcompany iKratos goes Afrika.
iKratos founds a corporation, with people from the country in West Africa. Therefore the cooperation with Africa is considered and iKratos Solarcompany Africa S.A. develops with it the presence at the African market. iKratos already expels since 1998 solar components. The very growing enterprise iKratos supplies with his components and engineering about own distribution network excluding local authority districts and private individuals who guarantee a high quality of the installed arrangements “made in germany”. The engineering and the planning comes from Germany. With this high-class claim is iKratos the enterprise for in the very expanding mobile telecommunication market and the missing solar water supplies for Africa, very high-quality arrangements are offered in the African market. iKratos Africa also supplies hospitals. In the second step it is planned to supply mobile radio communication systems with self-sufficient stream arrangements the second pivot leg from iKratos. Manager from iKratos Africa S.A. becomes Willi Harhammer. More informations under www.ikratos.de
Sunny greetings from germany,
Willi Harhammer ( CEO )