by Dr. Gerhard Knies, Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC)

Imports of fuels such as uranium, natural gas and oil, are considered to be politically risky, since the global reserves are shrinking inexorably. This is leading to higher prices, to political dependencies and to limits on supplies. By contrast, solar power is plentiful and inexhaustible, and its extended use will lower costs and improve the technologies. Against this backdrop, the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) was founded in September 2003. TREC is an initiative in the field of renewable forms of energy, of The Club of Rome, the Hamburg Climate Protection Foundation and the National Energy Research Center of Jordan (NERC). The aim of TREC is to develop a concept for energy, water and climate security in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EU-MENA) and to make this concept a reality in cooperation with people in politics, industry and the world of finance. In order to provide clean energy for Europe and for sunbelt countries quickly and economically, cooperation between the countries of EU-MENA is needed. Power from deserts, as a supplement to European sources of renewable energy, can speed up the process of cutting European emissions of CO2 and it can help to increase the security of European energy supplies. At the same time, it can provide jobs, earnings and other benefits for people in North Africa and the Middle East.

To determine the feasibility of this approach, two studies were commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conversation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and have been conducted by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). TREC has also been involved in the conduct of these two studies which have evaluated the potential of renewables in MENA, the expected needs for water and power in EU-MENA between now and 2050 and the potential for an intercontinental electricity transmission grid spanning the whole of EU-MENA. Satellite-based studies by the DLR have shown that, using less than 0.3% of the entire desert areas of the MENA region, Solar Thermal Power Plants can generate enough electricity to supply current demands in EU-MENA, and anticipated increases in those demands in the future. Solar thermal power plants (also called Concentrating Solar Thermal Power, CSP) use mirrors to concentrate sunlight to raise steam and generate electricity. Excess heat from additional collectors can be stored in tanks of molten salt and then be used to power the steam turbines during the night, or when there is a peak in demand. In order to ensure uninterrupted service during periods with overcast or bad weather, the turbines can also be powered by oil, natural gas or biomass fuels.

An interesting by-product that can be a great benefit to the local population is that waste heat from the power-generation process can be used to desalinate seawater and to generate thermal cooling. Accordingly, this approach has potential to alleviate shortages of fresh water in the MENA regions. The trade winds of southern Morocco may be harnessed to generate additional supplies of electricity. Clean electricity can be transmitted via High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission lines throughout EU-MENA with overall transmission losses that would be no more than 10-15%. Increased demand by Europe would lead to more business opportunities for the MENA countries. This in turn may help to increase political stability and improve relations between Europe and MENA. Too large a dependence on one country and on only a few power plants can be avoided by diversifying the range of sources of renewable energy, as illustrated by the figures showing large numbers of solar power plants and wind farms in many countries — and by of the use of several different HVDC transmission lines to Europe. Possible worries about security of supply will also be reduced if there are many different owners of the facilities, both public and private.

By 2050, between 10-25% of Europe's electricity may be clean power that is imported from the deserts. International trade in renewable energy will tend to increase the number of available sources and should help to strengthen international stability. The creation of new jobs in the MENA region should enhance its internal stability. Employment would be created in construction phase, in the maintenance of power plants, and in the generation of electricity and water for local people. There is also the possibility of generating hydrogen through inexpensive and inexhaustible supplies of energy as a possible substitute for fossil fuels for transport. Furthermore this would reduce the reliance on biomass to generate electricity, freeing more biomass reserves for its use in the transport sector.

The Club of Rome and TREC support this concept. Countries, such as Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, and the United Emirates have already shown a strong interest in this kind of cooperation. As a means of implementing the DESERTEC concept, TREC proposes an initiative that would be as ambitious as the Apollo SPACE program that took people to the moon. In addition to feed-in regulations and other measures in support of clean power generation from the deserts, this Apollo 'DESERTEC' programme could be boosted by a number of projects that are technically possible, but require financial and political support. One example is the Gaza Solar Power & Water Project. The aim of the project is to build combined solar thermal power and desalination plants. These plants, part of a potential international recovery programme for Gaza, could be located in the Egyptian Sinai coastal region, with appropriate water and power lines into the Gaza strip, providing supplies for 2-3 Million people. This project could mark a turning point in the currently disastrous social and economic development of Gaza, in the regional conflicts over water and even contribute positively to the stalled peace process between Israel and Palestine. The total investment required would be about 5 billion Euros. However, as suggested in the recent Stern report, this kind of investment would be safer and much cheaper than letting climate change proceed unchecked, and then paying for the resulting damage. By the middle of the 21st century, the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East could provide most of the power needed in the MENA region, and become inexhaustible sources of clean energy for European countries, thus helping to cut emissions of CO2 from electricity generation by 70% and phase out nuclear power at the same time – with decreasing electricity costs in the long-term.

Dr. Gerhard Knies is member of the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC). He co-founded the Hamburg Climate Protection Foundation in 1995.
 
For more information on TREC, please see http://www.trecers.net  
For more information on the studies conducted by the DLR, please see http://www.dlr.de/de/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-13  
For the Club of Rome, please see http://www.clubofrome.org

Published in:ECC-Newsletter, Februar 2007