Report: Desertec to start work on first African solar plant next year
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German media reports ground-breaking on first Moroccan solar farm
By BusinessGreen staff
01 Nov 2011
Ambitious plans to import renewable energy to Europe from solar farms
in North Africa took a major step forward this week, following reports
that the organisation behind the proposals will break ground on its
first solar thermal power plant next year.
Senior officials at the Desertec Industrial Iniatitive, a consortium
of primarily German-based energy, engineering and investment firms,
told reporters that it intends to begin construction on a 150MW solar
farm in Morocco that could later be expanded to up to 500MW of capacity.
According to German media reports, the first phase of the project will
take between two and four years to complete and will cost around �600m.
The Handelsblatt newspaper also reported this week that the group
plans to sign a development agreement with the Algerian government in
the coming weeks, giving it three plants in various stages of
development including the Morocco plant and a mooted project in Tunisia.
The Desertec project ultimately envisages raising up to �400bn to
invest in solar thermal projects in North Africa that could then
transmit electricity along high voltage direct current lines to Europe.
According to some estimates, the approach could provide up to 15 per
cent of Europe's energy by 2050, providing a central role in efforts
to decarbonise the continent's energy infrastructure.
It could also be supported by the recently proposed Helios Project,
which could see Greece pay off some of its debt mountain by providing
clean solar energy to its northern European neighbours.
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