Construction of new concentrating solar thermal power plants has begun already in Spain and in the USA (Andasol 1 & 2, Solar Tres, PS10, Nevada Solar One). Projects are in progress in Algeria, Egypt and Morocco and further plants are planned in Jordan and Libya. Morocco has implemented a feed-in law to support renewables (wind in particular). Discussions about the construction of a HVDC-Supergrid across Europe (a Euro-Supergrid) have started in the EU and plans for offshore wind farms are taking shape.

 

To boost the construction of solar thermal power plants and wind turbines in MENA, the EU should support a campaign to inform MENA governments that, over the lifetime of those plants, they would be a cheaper source of power than electricity generated from oil or natural gas. This would reduce the domestic use of fossil fuels (which are continuing to increase in price) and, at the same time, it would enable the sun-belt countries to produce clean power from their own deserts for local use and for export.

While solar thermal power plants already work economically in MENA countries, further reductions in costs would be necessary to make CSP a profitable export option from MENA. Growth in the construction of those plants and EU support for the Euro-Supergrid with a EU-MENA-Connection will help to drive down costs in the period up to 2020. Towards that goal, it would be useful if the EU would provide advice and support for the possible introduction of feed-in regulations in MENA countries along the lines of the German and Spanish Renewable Energy Laws. International guarantees for the local feed-in contracts or power supply agreements would help to boost the construction of solar plants and wind turbines.

It is very important that talks begin soon on the development of the proposed Euro-Supergrid with a EU-MENA-Connection. This would facilitate the optimal integration of all renewable sources of energy from Europe with renewables from MENA. In itself, the initiation of the EU-MENA-Connection for the transmission of clean power from deserts to Europe would create a boom of investments in renewable sources of energy in MENA countries and would give Europe access to cheap, clean and inexhaustible electricity. The construction of HVDC grids for the first 10 GW, as described in the TRANS-CSP scenario, would cost about 5 billion Euros. If the EU-MENA-Connection is to start transmission by 2020, talks within the EU and with the governments of MENA (perhaps in the Barcelona Process) must begin as soon as possible.

As compared to power from "domestic" new fossil and nuclear plants (curve "Mix 2000" on the right), solar power from North Africa will be cheaper in Southern European countries like Spain and Italy with beginning of transmission in 2020. With progressing cost reduction and EU-MENA grid expansion this will become so in most other European countries latest in 2030. The power cost reducing EU-MENA-Connection as studied in the TRANS-CSP scenario will require an investment of 45 billion Euros until 2050, and yield annual savings of up to 10 billion Euros. Lean cost clean power from deserts will become the least cost option and setting up the EU-MENA-Connection appears as a "must" for European economies.

In addition to these direct supporting measures, TREC proposes two projects to help bring down the cost of CSP and to alleviate pressing social and political problems at the same time. Both projects are technically possible, but require financial and political support:

1.

Gaza Solar Power and Water Project (PDF): To build CSP plants for the combined generation of electricity (1 GW in total) and desalination of sea water. These plants, part of a potential international recovery programme for Gaza, could be located in the Egyptian Sinai coastal region. With the provision of appropriate water and power lines into the Gaza strip, these facilities could provide 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 for water and in the stalled peace process between Israel and Palestine. The total investment required would be about 5 billion Euros.

 

2.

Sana’a Solar Water Project (PDF): To build desalination and power plants near the Red Sea for the Yemenite Capital Sana’a which is facing the exhaustion of its ground water reserves in about 15 years. These plants, powered by solar energy, would generate fresh water for Sana’a and, at the same time, would produce the power needed to pump the fresh water through a pipeline to the city of Sana’a at an altitude of 2200 meters. This Sana’a project could avoid a looming humanitarian disaster and social unrest in Yemen, and would save a cultural heritage of world-wide significance. Moving 2 million people from Sana’a to new settlements would cost about 30 billion Euros. This is very much more expensive than the 5 billion Euros needed for the alternative plan: to let people to stay in Sana’a and build solar power plants and a pipeline to supply them with water.

 

By the middle of the 21st century, the MENA countries could have upgraded their deserts to inexhaustible sources of clean energy and sell clean power to European countries, thus contributing to bring down European emissions of greenhouse gases to a sustainable level. In the scenario described in reports from the DLR, it will be possible 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.