A Pan-European solar energy project codenamed Desertec can start producing electricity as early as in 2015. Desertec plans to build huge solar farms in Sahara desert. According to European scientists, the world deserts are a totally unexplored goldmine… sorry, energymine. It might be true – there are over 7 million sq. miles of unused desert territories worldwide. They are hot like hell and get an amazing amount of solar irradiation year after year.
If we were able to cover the desert in solar cells in its entirety, we would get 54,000,000TWh of electricity. The funny thing is that we only need 18,000TWh (that’s how much electricity we consume worldwide).
Harnessing even a tiny bit of that energy would allow Europe meeting its 20% renewable energy target by 2020.
Although this sounds like a great idea, there are downsides. Installing large solar farms can potentially affect the desert wildlife. Many of the rare species living in deserts are on a decline. Another big minus is the cabling. Thousands of miles of cabling would be needed to get the energy to Europe. Producing and laying the cables is a very expensive and carbon-intensive thing.
So, what do you think? Thumbs up or thumbs down? Please add your comments!
