Desert sun could hold key to Europe's energy needs

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Solar energy is energy from the Sun. This energy drives climate and weather and supports virtually all life on Earth. Heat and light from the sun, along with solar-based resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for over 99.9 percent of the available flow of renewable energy. Solar energy technologies harness the sun's energy for practical ends. These technologies date from the time of the early Greeks, Indian, Native Americans and Chinese, who warmed their buildings by orienting them toward the sun. Modern solar technologies provide heating, lighting, electricity and even flight. Solar power is used synonymously with solar energy or more specifically to refer to the conversion of sunlight into electricity. This can be done either through the photovoltaic effect or by heating a transfer fluid to produce steam to run a generator.
Desert sun could hold key to Europe's energy needs Vanessa Mock 03-12-2007 European politicians are turning to the desert in their search for clean, cheap and secure energy. As oil and gas prices hover at record levels, the Prince of Jordan and international scientists have been invited to Brussels to state their case for an energy goldmine: the sun. Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan says large-scale investment in highly-concentrated solar energy could spark an 'industrial revolution' spanning the Middle East and northern Africa. It could help avert a looming energy crisis in Europe. Solar bandwagon "It's a tremendous step forward. It is clean, cheap and it can provide energy many hundred times beyond our needs," the Prince told Radio Netherlands Worldwide. "The technology is there, we have plants up and running in the US and in Spain. So I hope that before they jump on the nuclear bandwagon, people will look at this source of energy that is freely available in endless supplies." Franz Trieb has been researching the technology for the German Aerospace Centre and says concentrating solar thermal power has everything going for it: "If you built a plant the same size as Lake Nasser in Egypt (6,000 sq km), it would produce the same amount of energy as the total Middle East oil production."Dr Trieb says the advantages of building large-scale plants include: Endless supply of sunshine guaranteeing stable energy prices Electricity from the plants can be easily transmitted by cable to Europe Initial investment cost comparable to those for conventional power plants Emission-free, clean technology; plants can be built with recyclable materials Energy, jobs and water Speaking in the European Parliament, the Prince explained that solar plants have to be built near water to drive their turbines, which means some of the energy can be used to de-salinate water: "Children in Gaza are dying from lack of safe drinking water and by 2025, we'll be facing a chronic shortage of clean water. It's time for us to tackle this urgent, existential need. This dual-purpose technology can bring growth and stability to the people across the whole region and that stabilisation process is crucial. Otherwise extremists will continue [their bloodshed] by attracting people who have nothing to live for. Economic migrants who end up washed up on the shores of the Europe will be encouraged to stay." Overcoming fear Dorette Corbey, a Dutch MEP, believes Europe must make the leap towards the technology and overcome its fear of working together with the Middle East on the project. "The main hurdle now is political fear but we have to get over it. This is a very promising technology that could help us avert an energy crisis and tackle global warming." The Prince also rebuffed European concerns about potential instability in the region by pointing to growing frictions between countries like Poland and Russia over oil pipelines. "Instability is not confined to Arab nations. The main thing is to find a sound political agreement and come up with a template for joint-ownership." Terrorist target? Experts say there is no credible reason for the plants to become a terrorist target. Dr Trieb explained that the huge scale of the solar plants would make them hard to attack and that the panels could be in any case be replaced. Similarly, it would be very hard to attack a vast network of power cables stretching from Africa across Europe. "Solar energy actually increases security of supply," he said. Scientists envisage that the first large-scale power plants could be up and running by 2020. But this will depend on political support and funding from Europe. See also A new solar power Foretaste of future energy costs This report is summarised from Radio Netherlands. Visit their site to enjoy further informative writing and multimedia Readers please email comments to: editorial AT martinfrost.ws including full name
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