Harvesting Solar Power from the Sahara Desert

Using a massive network of roughly 1,000 100-megawatt power plants, and thousands of miles of high-voltage d.c. transmission cables, a conglomeration of researchers, environmentalists and businessmen is attempting to sell Europe on the idea of harvesting solar power from the Sahara Desert. The green-energy idea includes a mix of renewable energies, from wind to geothermal to biomass power, and is dubbed DESERTEC. Not surprisingly, the issue isn’t technological, but economic and nationalistic in nature. Some, for example, are concerned about the idea of relying on Africa for power. Others are worried about the US$595 billion price tag. Jon Gibbins, an energy engineer at Imperial College London, commented, "Unless it’s extremely cheap, it won’t stop people using easy-to-get fossil fuels. We didn’t stop using coal in the last century because of oil."