Indicaron que con energía proveniente del sol del Norte de África se podría cubrir el 15 por ciento de la demanda europea de electricidad. Las plantas generadoras y las redes de distribución estarían listas para enviar la energía a la Unión Europea en el año 2019.
"Ya no se trata de una visión lejana sino de una visión tecnológicamente tentadora y viable", comentó Torsten Jeworrek, alto directivo de Munchner Ruck, en una entrevista que publicó el diario Suddeutsche Zeitung y después fue confirmada por portavoces de varios consorcios interesados en el proyecto.
El proyecto, de salir adelante, tendría consecuencias geopolíticas de largo alcance. Podría reducir la dependencia de Europa de petróleo y gas que el viejo continente importa de países como Rusia, que ya utilizó en el pasado reciente su energía como una eficaz herramienta de presión política.
Siemens, por su parte, indicó que teóricamente, si se tapiza con espejos parabólicos una superficie de 300 kilómetros por 300 kilómetros en el Desierto del Sáhara, se podría cubrir todo el requerimiento mundial de energía eléctrica en el mundo.
El portavoz de Siemens puso énfasis en que el uso de la energía solar por medio de plantas industriales termosolares experimentará un enorme auge en el futuro.
Una de las grandes atracciones de la ambiciosa iniciativa, que ya está sobre las mesas de trabajo de varios ejecutivos del grupo de empresas alemanas que lo patrocinan, es producir electricidad sin emisiones a la atmósfera de dióxido de carbono (CO2). Si logra concretarse, se convertiría en el proyecto energético ecológico más grande del planeta, un sistema de generación solar que podría acabar con las amenazas y conflictos que provoca la lucha por las fuentes de energía no renovable.
José Santamarta, director de World Watch en España y coautor junto a Comisiones Obreras del informe sobre emisiones de CO2, piensa que "la mejor opción, por costes, es aprovechar la energía eólica del litoral de Marruecos, ex Sáhara español y Mauritania. Pero para frenar el cambio climático, no optar por las centrales nucleares y dar un nivel de vida digno a la gente, con desalinizadoras que den el agua necesaria, hace falta un proyecto como Desertec".
El Sahara, con nueve millones de kilómetros cuadrados de arena, piedras y rocas -18 veces más grande que España-, es un enorme desierto que absorbe colosales cantidades de energía en forma de rayos solares que nunca ha sido aprovechada por el ser humano. En tan solo seis horas, el desierto recibe energía solar suficiente para satisfacer el consumo de todo el planeta en un año, afirma Gerhard Knies, un experto del Club de Roma, que lleva años trabajando en el proyecto Desertec.
La visión de Knies para aprovechar esa fuente inagotable es simple y cautivadora: construir platas solares termoeléctricas en el Sahara para generar electricidad gestionable. Estas centrales utilizan espejos parabólicos para concentrar los rayos solares, cuyo calor es absorbido por fluidos que discurren por tubos para, posteriormente, generar vapor que propulsan las turbinas que producen la corriente
La energía térmica recogida en el campo solar durante el día puede almacenarse (por ejemplo en tanques de sales fundidas) para producir electricidad por la noche o aportar un suministro adicional cuando el consumo lo requiera. La visión está basada en estudios científicos elaborados por el Centro Aeroespacial alemán (DFL), que calculó, con la ayuda de satélites, que las plantas construidas en tan solo el 0,3% de la superficie del desierto (60.000 km2), podría producir suficiente electricidad y agua desalinizada para Libia, Marruecos, Argelia, Túnez y Egipto, y para toda Europa.
La corriente generada por las centrales solares termoeléctricas sería enviada a través de cables submarinos de corriente continua a Europa. La visión comenzó a concretarse en 2005 cuando un grupo de organizaciones internacionales involucradas en el proyecto presentó un primer informe. Cuatro años después ha adquirido una esperanzadora actualidad cuando un portavoz de la reaseguradora Münchener Rückversicherung anunció que el 13 de julio se llevaría a cabo una reunión en la sede del grupo en Munich para trazar las primeras líneas destinadas a convertir la utopía en realidad.
La coordinación, el estudio de riesgos y el seguro del megaproyecto, como es lógico, será tarea de la reaseguradora, mientras que el tendido de líneas de alto voltaje para llevar la electricidad a Europa será de responsabilidad de Siemens y la firma ABB. La comercialización de la energía producida por el sol que calienta el Sahara será coordinada por los gigantes Eon y RWE; la construcción de los espejos será responsabilidad de Schott Solar y Ferrostal, y Solar Millenium vigilará el desarrollo del proyecto.
La dimensión de esta idea, que puede revolucionar el mercado energético mundial, no ha pasado desapercibida para el gobierno federal alemán, que estará representado en la reunión del 13 de julio por el viceministro de Exteriores, Günter Gloser. El alto funcionario reveló en una entrevista reciente que la puesta en marcha de Desertec sería un beneficio mutuo para el continente africano y Europa, además de promover la integración en el Mediterráneo.
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€400bn energy plan to harness African sun
It’s decision day on a chain of solar generators across the desert that could supply a quarter of Europe’s power.
The world’s most ambitious green energy project is about to take shape. It is a plan for a chain of mammoth sun-powered energy plants in the deserts of North Africa to supply power to Europe’s homes and factories by the end of the next decade.
In a few days’ time a consortium of 20 German firms will meet in Munich to hammer out plans for funding the giant €400bn (£343bn) project, named Desertec. The scheme is being backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government and several German industry household names including Siemens, Deutsche Bank, and the energy companies RWE and E.ON. The Munich meeting will also involve Italian and Spanish energy concerns, as well as representatives from the Arab League and the Club of Rome think-tank.
Energy experts have calculated that Desertec could meet at least 15 per cent of Europe’s needs, and be up and running by 2019. By 2050, they estimate the contribution could be between 20 and 25 per cent. Although no host countries have been named, Desertec envisages a string of solar-thermal plants across North Africa’s desert. The plants would use mirrors to focus the sun’s rays, which would be used to heat water to power steam turbines. The process is cheaper and more efficient than the usual form of solar power, which uses photovoltaic cells to convert the sun’s rays into electricity.
The project also envisages setting up a new super grid of high-voltage transmission lines from the Mahgreb desert to Europe. Hans Müller-Steinhagen, of German Aerospace, has researched the project for the German government. He said that although the idea behind the scheme had been around for several years, investors had been deterred by the high costs of setting up the infrastructure.
Professor Müller-Steinhagen said that similar projects have been operating in the American West for years, but these had failed to gain the appropriate recognition. "Solar thermal power plants were built in California and Nevada, but people lost interest in them because fossil fuels became unbeatably cheap," he said.
Until now, projects of Desertec’s scale have failed to get off the ground because of the huge problems involved in delivering electricity to consumers hundreds of miles away. The main stumbling block is that the further electricity is transported, the more is lost. However, Siemens claims that it has come up with a solution. Alfons Benziger, a spokesman for the engineering giant which has been involved in the construction of major hydro-power plants in India and China, said: "We have developed so-called high-voltage direct current energy transmission. This can transport energy over long distances without heavy losses. We use the process at the power plants in India and China."
Andree Böhling, an energy expert for Greenpeace Germany, has heaped praise on Desertec: "The initiative is one of the most intelligent answers to the world’s environmental and industrial problems," he said. Munich Re, meanwhile, which insures major insurance companies across the globe, was persuaded to invest in the project after seeing a steady rise in the number of claims the company had to meet as a result of climate-change-induced damage.
Desertec supporters, including the German conservative politician Friedbert Pflüger, argue that a far greater threat is posed by the prospect of nuclear power plants being subjected to such attacks. He points out that a number of nuclear reactors are scheduled to be built in North Africa – Egypt alone plans to build five. Mr Pflüger claims that the risk of politically motivated Russian-style energy stoppages by host countries could be avoided if the solar grid has enough supply channels.
But he warns that politics is likely to be the main stumbling block. "It’s not Europe that will decide whether the desert can be used as an energy resource, but the countries of North Africa," he said last week. "So far these countries have either not been involved in the dialogue at all or only at a very limited level."
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DESERTEC: An electrifying vision for Europe
At the invitation of Munich Re, a group of corporations is exploring the vision of what would be one of the largest green electricity initiatives ever undertaken by the private sector: DESERTEC. The project, which is based on existing technology, would involve building huge solar power plants in the middle of the desert, which could supply around 15% of Europe’s electricity by 2050. With its concept for a carbon-free energy supply, DESERTEC could be a groundbreaking step in the battle against climate change.
Natural catastrophes count among the most expensive losses hitting insurers’ and reinsurers’ balance sheets. "If we fail to mitigate climate change, our Group will suffer the consequences along with everybody else", says Dr. Torsten Jeworrek, member of the Board of Management of Munich Re and head of its Reinsurance Committee.
The DESERTEC ("desert + technology") concept has been developed over the last few years based on an initiative by the Club of Rome Germany and studies conducted by the German Aerospace Center DLR to promote the vision of a carbon-free energy supply. The basic idea is to build solar thermal power plants and wind farms in the Sahara desert, initially to cover the growing demand for electric power in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa). Experts project that an area of "only" 130 x 130 kilometres would be sufficient for DESERTEC to supply all of Europe’s energy needs.
As a first, short-term goal, the electricity from the desert is intended to contribute to a more varied energy mix.
According to the Club of Rome, apart from having an energy mix from different renewable sources, geographic diversification is also desirable. With the help of DESERTEC, Europe could obtain around 15% of its electricity from North Africa by 2050. The technology needed to put this pioneering project into practice already exists. The required investment is estimated at around €400bn. The remaining power needs could increasingly be covered by domestic production from such renewable technologies as photovoltaics, wind and geothermal energy. The German Aerospace Center estimates that such a mix would reduce Europe’s dependence on imports from 70% today to 45–50%, and the share of fossil energy supplies to 50%.
Advantages and positive side effects
For Max Schön, President of the Club of Rome Germany, the advantages of the project are obvious: "What makes DESERTEC so attractive is that it would make a vital contribution: firstly, to protecting our climate and, secondly, to ensuring the security of energy and water supplies for Europe, North Africa and the Middle East." This brings to mind another aspect, one which has rarely been discussed or researched to date: migration. "We believe that DESERTEC will also help to promote peace. If everyone in the Mediterranean region is pursuing a single, common goal, then it would be futile for anyone to engage in armed conflict. And if the people in North Africa can achieve a certain level of prosperity, there will be no need for them to emigrate in order to survive."
Technology and feasibility
What is so striking about this vision is that the technology needed for DESERTEC basically exists. Solar thermal power plants with a total capacity of 500 megawatts are already in operation, additional plants with a capacity of 1 gigawatt are under construction, and more than ten gigawatt power plants are at an advanced planning stage. There remains the question of economic viability: What would the cost of electricity be? Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen of the German Aerospace Center sees a chance of reducing the cost of electricity by pursuing approaches developed in detail in the EcoStar study. "At present, each power plant is unique. Mass production and experience will lower costs substantially, however. The next step will be to develop solar-powered gas turbine plants that operate without cooling water." The German Aerospace Center assumes that in ten to 15 years’ time, the electricity generated by solar power plants will be able to compete with the medium-load electricity from fossil power plants. Then the production costs might reach the region of eight to ten eurocents per kilowatt-hour of medium-load electricity, in terms of present-day purchasing power. By then, new research findings will also be available, permitting further increases in efficiency. However, despite the use of known technologies, implementation of such a visionary concept will require substantial initial financing. Therefore, DESERTEC can probably only be put into practice if suitable incentivisation mechanisms are in place to make such investments worthwhile for investors.
Although many obstacles have yet to be overcome for this fascinating vision to become a reality, Munich Re Board member Torsten Jeworrek is confident: "DESERTEC is clearly banking on the right incentives in the long term, namely climate protection and a low-carbon energy sector. With our initiative, we are therefore commencing a dialogue with visionary thinkers and companies that, like us, are convinced of DESERTEC’s enormous economic, ecological and social potential."
www.munichre.com/en/ts/engineering/special_topics/desertec/default.aspx
