Berlin - You can always trust the sun to come up every morning. Some people even trust it will provide cloudy Europe with cheap, secure energy. Others have a vision it can bring a brighter future to many countries. A recently launched project aims at providing European households with electricity from solar power plants in the North African Sahara.
The 400-billion-euro (552-billion-dollar) Desertec Industrial Initiative hopes to develop "a reliable, sustainable and climate- friendly energy supply" that satisfies a substantial part of energy needs of the Middle East and North African (MENA) region and meet as much as 15 per cent of Europe's electricity demand by 2050.
Although the technology used - concentrated solar power that allows generators to run at night, thus enabling production of electricity "on demand," like in conventional power stations - is not new, the location of the large-scale project stands out in the solar industry, which has seen enormous growth over the last decade, in several European countries, especially Germany.
"Projects like Desertec might seem visionary at the moment, but are likely to become viable in some years. And those companies and countries that engage early in the development of such projects will gain comparative advantages," said Marcel Vietor, the head of foreign energy policy at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).
The project comes as many states still suffer from the repercussions of the economic crisis. Thus, Desertec is getting off the ground just as other solar energy companies feel the pinch of the global downturn.
Recently German solar energy companies reported that their earnings have collapsed and expressed fear that the government will cut its subsidies, following the Spanish government's to dramatically scale back subsidized solar power.
But experts argue that the solar energy to be produced in the Saharan project will eventually prove attractive, financially. Dan Lewis, the chief executive at the London-based Economic Policy Centre, argues that "this kind of solar energy is cheaper."
He says it is similar to someone who wants to buy a radio that is cheap and lasts for one year, when there is another radio that costs three times more, but lasts for 10 years.
"The concentrated solar power costs a lot at the beginning, but it is cheaper over longer time," Lewis told the German Press Agency dpa. "It is all relative, of course."
With no fuel costs and a lifetime of at least 40 years, the plant in North Africa can produce seven times more power than one in Germany, Lewis points out. Research by the German Aerospace Centre shows that concentrated solar power plants in MENA will be capable of producing up to 470,000 megawatts by the year 2050.
The consortium hopes to begin building its first power station in 2015, as they will need three years to conduct a feasibility study, look into methods of financing and evaluate political issues involved.
While the year-round sun makes the North African countries a prime tourist destination, political instability in the region still makes some tourists, as well as businesses, hesitant to head there.
Vietor believes that North African governments will support the Desertec project when they see a benefit for their country. "If this is the case, they will have an interest in keeping the business running smoothly," he told dpa.
The DGAP expert adds that Desertec will be only part of Europe's energy supply, so there is no threat of a "hijack or a block of electricity to the EU."
Both Vietor and Lewis argue that North African countries will have their gain as well, through job opportunities, electricity deliveries and revenues. But the involved companies and countries will have to strike a balance between North Africa and Europe with regard to production and distribution of electricity, they say.
They also believe that the implementation of Desertec should be accompanied by political initiatives supporting stability and democracy in the region.
"This is the world we live in. And there are two things that can be done to protect such projects: diversity of energy supplies as well as encouraging such countries to have representative governments," Lewis said.
