Is it possible to turn the Sahara desert into a giant solar panel?

In 1986, the voltage spike during security checks at the Chernobyl reactor caused a catastrophic explosion. Thirty-one people died on the spot, many more died due to the effects of the release. Along with the accident at Fukushima in 2011, it is one of the worst nuclear accidents which indicates the maximum severity level is 7. Support for nuclear power plummeted around the world because of these events.

But Gerhard NIS, particle physicist from Germany, decided to ask a simple question. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, have come a long way before you become our energy source, and partly owe their energy to the sun. Plants and animals buried under the earth, thousands of years turned into is a fossil fuel. Radioactive uranium that fuels nuclear power plants, was also a byproduct of nuclear fusion in stars. Would it not be cheaper, easier and cleaner to obtain energy from the sun directly?

NIS did a simple calculation and found that in six hours the world's deserts receive more solar energy than the entire human race consumes in a year. The energy needs of the world can meet, covering only 1.2% of the Sahara desert with solar panels. NIS is probably not even thinking about the carbon dioxide emissions — because one day fossil fuels will one day end — but climate change is fueling the motivation to tackle such a project. And, of course, it all looks very simple: he NIS marveled, saying, are we so stupid as a species, that until now did not come to this?

Of Course, it is difficult to convince people to invest in such a Grand and ambitious scheme — which requires huge investments, does not promise any serious profit — but the initiative Desertec was a real attempt to demonstrate the operability of the concept.

The Plan was to place the solar panels in the Sahara that will provide most of the facilities in the middle East and North Africa, as well as provide energy exports to $ 60 billion, which will satisfy 15% of the electricity needs of Europe. Meanwhile, the Europeans are importing the energy of the desert — you could save up to 30 euros per MWh on electricity bills. All will win in the end.

The Desertec began to develop in 2009 and soon got close industry partners, including EON, Deutsche Bank and Siemens. Their investment was necessary because the project was estimated at 400 billion euros — although in a few years he would already pays for itself. However, the project stalled, and in 2014, of the seventeen initial partners the industry's only three left.

What happened to Desertec? This stems from two sets of factors. First, it is a problem, which for many years pursued a transition to renewable energy. Secondly, it is a unique geopolitical and logistical problems of solar panels in the Sahara. Both deserve attention.

closing the gap

First — this is a common problem of renewable energy. The Desertec plan involves the creation of a centralized energy station, which will distribute electricity on three continents, and to transmit the electricity to such large distances could be a problem.

The Plan was to use high-voltage transmission lines DC — instead of AC transmission lines, to which we are accustomed. At large distances the energy loss may be only 3% per 1,000 kilometers, which is much smaller than in the case of alternating current. But nothing on such a scale has not previously been built; the largest chain is in Brazil, this line is the Rio Madeira transmission of 6.3 GW at 2400 miles. To Desertec were successful, from the Sahara to Europe need to pass 30 GW of energy at a distance of over 3000 kilometers. Nevertheless, this can be quite real on the news that in July of 2016, China began to Finance high-voltage transmission lines DC, which will transmit 12 GW of 3,000 kilometers.

And it is not only the transfer of energy. What to do when the sun in the sky no? But this is a serious problem for renewable energy sources.

Energy Storage can be part of the solution but are not yet sufficiently developed. In global storage currently dominated by hydroelectricity pumped. This simple technique detects 99% of global storage, but the global storage 127 GW is still less than 1% of the total capacity used by the world. Researchers in the energy industry talking about a hypothetical "European super grids" which will allow you to transfer power from regions of excess production to regions of excessive consumption. The same happens within countries in order to ensure a constant supply of electricity, but that this is largely due to the fact that energy production based on fossil fuels can increase or decrease.

And there are precedents for such a system: France and Britain are connected by the transmission line in 2 GW. High voltage direct current allows to transfer energy in both directions, depending on demand; usually the British import French electricity, but not always. The fjords of Norway can produce 98% of its electricity from hydropower; the winds of Denmark allow you to produce 50% of its electricity through renewable sources of energy; the cables running through Scandinavia, guarantee that everyone can obtain energy if the wind blows or the sun shines. Studies have shown that the area of the Mediterranean sea with an energy source like Desertec can provide 80% of its energy needs through solar energy without worrying about interrupts.

Expect the unexpected

While people considered the project, which could focus the world's energy supply in Libya and Algeria, there are more specific problems — the civil war in Libya and political instability in the Sahara. Add to that the fact that the project is planned to finish only in 2050, and industrial partners would have had to convince is that promises short-term benefits.

There are more subtle political problem of rights to natural resources.

As it happens with many bold, futuristic designs, a small government intervention could impede the project like Desertec. The country has been enriched at the expense of export of oil or coal; could the sun one day play a similar role? At first glance, it's another bonus in the scheme of the Desertec; poor countries of Africa would have become extremely valuable due to the export of energy to the world while still maintaining your needs. But in practice, start another imperialist exploitation. It's just a new form of resource exploitation, and the history remembers a lot of sad stories on this issue.

There is another reason for stopping the development of Desertec.

The Project was supported by concentrated solar energy, in which the parabolic mirror concentrated sunlight, which boiled water, which resulted in the movement of wind turbines. This technology allowed to involve in the project Siemens. The problem is that when Desertec began to develop, the price of solar panels began to fall rapidly. From 2009 to 2014, the cost of photovoltaic cells has fallen by 78% and continues to fall. In just five years, photovoltaic cells fell by five times. That's why Siemens left the project.

Desertec continues to live in small forms; the construction of power plants in Morocco, which will satisfy local energy demand in the country. Perhaps we should begin with this: to build its own production in the Middle East and North Africa. In the end, this is not the first and not the last project that promised to provide the world with boundless energy and who have stalled; historians remember the "Ufa" — a plan to dam the Strait of Gibraltar and use it for hydropower, which was a lot of interest in the 1920-ies.

Still, the term remains too tempting. Solar energy, which could be mined in the deserts of the world, is only one of few possible ways to use renewable energy to meet the needs of people on a large scale. One day we'll be much better to use what the sun gives us. We have.