In the sands of North Africa, the DESERTEC Foundation’s vision for a future where the world's deserts supply clean and sustainable energy to the whole of humankind is beginning to take shape. That future begins in the Saharan deserts of Tunisia with a project called "TuNur".

Two new DESERTEC projects support regional development

The sun-rich North Africa is ideally suited for the generation of clean power from the desert, but often lacks the necessary expertise in the field of renewable energies to fully profit from this solar resource. North African experts from the Desertec Foundation are working together with partners from Germany and the Mediterranean region to address this skills gap through two new projects.   In order to enable the people of North Africa to benefit from the construction of solar and wind power plants, these projects will initiate master degree programs, train technical personnel and help to create suitable conditions for the further development of renewables in the region. With more than 3 million Euros in funding, these projects are supported by the European Union, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Federal Republic of Germany.

George Papaconstantinou, Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change of Greece, is planning to turn German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble’s proposal for a multi-billion Euro solar project into reality. Should the “HELIOS” project drive European countries to expand the European power grid and to establish national feed-in tariffs for the import of clean energy, it would also benefit the realization of DESERTEC. However, we must sound a note of caution and stress that photovoltaic (PV) solar power from Greece cannot provide a viable alternative to clean power from deserts.

The industry initiative Dii, together with the DESERTEC Foundation and the DESERTEC University Network launch the DESERTEC Thesis Award this year. The winners will receive their award at Dii’s Annual Conference in November in Cairo. The aim of the award is to recognize outstanding research papers and to encourage more students to conduct research on the generation of renewable energy in the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa.

Die Bundesregierung ist aufgrund der verheerenden Ereignisse in Japan dabei, ihre Energiepolitik maßgeblich zu überdenken. Die DESERTEC Foundation begrüßt die Entscheidung der Bundeskanzlerin, eine Ethikkommission für eine sichere Energieversorgung einzusetzen. Zur Unterstützung der Entscheidungsfindung für einen vertretbaren ethisch-gesellschaftlichen Konsens und zur Beschleunigung der Energiewende, empfiehlt die DESERTEC Foundation, folgende Punkte zu berücksichtigen:

Jerry Li is chairman of Asia Energy Platform and a co-ordinator of DESERTEC Foundation in the Asian region. His statement was published in Chinese media.

Statement by Katrin-Susanne Richter, Director of the non-profit DESERTEC Foundation, in response to the nuclear emergency in Japan.

A statement by Katrin-Susanne Richter, Director of the non-profit DESERTEC Foundation, on the DESERTEC Concept "Clean Power from Deserts" and the developments in North Africa and the Middle East.

The DESERTEC Foundation, in cooperation with the Tunisian National Advisory Council for Scientific Research and Technology, has founded a platform for scientific cooperation for DESERTEC.

Hamburg - Yesterday, the Federal Government announced the new appointment of the Council for Sustainable Development. Among the new members of the council is Max Schön, the recently elected Chairman of the DESERTEC Foundation and President of the German chapter of the Club of Rome.

Hamburg – The organisational consultant Katrin-Susanne Richter and the entrepreneur Dr. Thiemo Gropp have been appointed Directors of the DESERTEC Foundation. Max Schön, entrepreneur and President of the German Chapter of the Club of Rome, takes over as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the non-profit Foundation.

Die DESERTEC Foundation ist Preisträger des bundesweit ausgetragenen Innovationswettbewerbs „365 Orte im Land der Ideen“. Dr. Thomas Rüschen von der Deutschen Bank in Frankfurt zeichnete heute die gemeinnützige Stiftung, die sich für die Gewinnung von Solarstrom aus den Wüsten der Erde einsetzt, als „Ausgewählten Ort 2010“ aus.

Prof. Klaus Töpfer will advise the Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii) on strategic issues. His activities will focus on political and social questions, with a view to realising the Desertec vision to the benefit of all participants in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. 

„Es ist das Richtige Signal zur richtigen Zeit. Um die Energiewende mit mehr sauberem, CO2-freiem Strom zeitnah zu schaffen, braucht Europa ein modernes, leistungsfähiges Stromnetz.“

A unique industry initiative to develop a reliable, sustainable and climate-friendly energy supply from the deserts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is now taking shape. 

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12 companies today signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Munich to establish a DESERTEC Industrial Initiative (DII).

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Environmental minister Christian von Boetticher and President of the German association of the Club of Rome Max Schön: “German Federal States support the DESERTEC Project.”

International vernetzte und dezentrale erneuerbare Energien dürfen nicht gegeneinander ausgespielt werden. Als Beitrag zu Klimaschutz und günstigen Strompreisen sollte man in jedem Fall beide Potenziale nutzen – und man wird es auch.

DESERTEC concept taken up: industry engages in unique project for clean power from deserts. 

German Association for The Club of Rome (Hanover, December 13th 2008)  

"Ökonomie gegen Ökologie auszuspielen ist sinnlos" – Das DESERTEC-Konzept schafft Klimaschutz, günstigen Strom und Arbeitsplätze, verspricht der Club of Rome.

German version (DOC, 170 kb / PDF, 110 kb)

Open letter by Dr. Gerhard Knies (DESERTEC Project Director at The Club of Rome) (Hamburg, December 5th 2008)

Solar Plan (MSP) becomes the flagship project of the Union for the Mediterranean

English Version (DOC, 170 kb / PDF, 110 kb)
German Version (DOC, 170 kb / PDF, 110 kb)

German Association for The Club of Rome (Hanover, April 24th 2008)

DESERTEC: 10,000 Solar GigaWatts – Clean Power from Deserts for the World

English version (DOC, 170 kb / PDF, 110 kb)

German Government advocates the import of solar electricity from deserts

English version (DOC, 100 kb / PDF, 120 kb)
German version (DOC, 100 kb / PDF, 120 kb) or at http://www.hannovermesse.de/

Letter from German government (PDF), inofficial English translation (DOC / PDF)

Program Forum "10,000 Solar GigaWatts" (PDF); April 23th and 24th at Hanover Fair

TREC (Hamburg, March 27th 2008)

Solar Mediterranean Union – Way to Energy and Climate Security?

English version (DOC, 300 kb / PDF, 350 kb)