I’ve been saying this for years
I haven’t spent a great deal on research as an individual, but it doesn’t take a team of mathematicians to realize that there’s a gold mine of energy in the Saharan desert. I often get bewildered looks from friends, and the occasional stranger, when I try to tell them that North Africa could quite easily be the wealthiest region in the world. According to Arnulf Jaeger-Waldau of the European commission’s Institute for Energy, just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle East deserts would be enough to meet all of Europe’s energy needs.
That doesn’t seem so difficult now, does it?
Problem #1: Photovoltaic cells or turbines?
Right now there’s debate between photovoltaic cells or turbines powered by steam created by an array of mirrors. Personally I’ve never been a fan of the turbine technology, it just seems like a dead end. Photovoltaic cell technology on the other hand is constantly being improved. New breakthroughs involving nanotechnology make photovoltaic cells a much more exciting choice. Steam and turbines … BORING!
Problem solved for 45 billion Euros
Problem#2 Distrubution via high voltage cables? Why not hydrogen?
There are a few reasons I don’t like the direct cable to Europe. First, they would limit Saharan nation’s power export markets to European countries that are connected to the “supergrid,” instead of being able to sell their power to the highest bidder. Second, what happens when a massive dust storm reduces electricity across solar farms in the Sahara? Both problems could easily be solved by using hydrogen to store and distribute power effectively.
I’m sure we’ll be hearing something from Greg Blencoe’s Hydrogen Discoveries Blog on the subject of infrastructure soon enough. I’d be very interested to know how the energy lost on a DC line from the Saharan Desert to Paris stacks up against transportation of hydrogen via pipeline or canister.
The idea of a European supergrid powered entirely by renewable energy is exciting in itself. It’s hard to believe such a radical departure from traditional power distribution methods has won support from political leaders like Nicholas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown. Let’s hope they don’t bungle it!
4 Comments until now
Photovoltaic cells or turbines?
If the steam is created by an array of mirrors, aren’t you losing efficiency by transferring light into heat, and then into steam? Or is it that solar cells just don’t produce the same amount of aggregate electricity?
Solar cells, at best, operate at about 15% efficiency and then only when they’re relatively cool. When the cells heat up they don’t produce as much power. Solar concentrating arrays on the other hand, work their best at higher temperatures.
My argument for PV cells is this: there’s a lot of room for improvement. Concentrating arrays seem like a dead end.
Loss for high-voltage DC line is approx. 3% per 1000km, with a few more % points lost for conversion ACDC.
Hydrogen is much worse:
creation of hydrogen using electrolysis is maximum 80% (nearer 70% realistically), then the biggest problem - the highest efficiency possible with convering the hydrogen back to electricity is about 60%, so in total you’re losing about 50% of power generated in the Sahara by transporting using H2. A high-voltage DC line is considerably more efficient.
Thankyou Chris for the figures. The DC lines are certainly more efficient for the EU.
What if they Saharan nations want to export their power to more lucrative markets like China or India? Filling stations in S. California are selling hydrogen for $3.50 a liter. I’d like to see Saharan nations have access to several markets for their power, instead of held hostage to the whims of the EU.
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