LETTER FOR PUBLICATION (Submitted to New Scientist, November 2009)

Dear Editor

SUNSHINE SUPERPOWER

One of the attractions of the Desertec concept, described in Fred Pearce's very welcome article ("Sunshine Superpower", 24 October 2009), is that the proposed 'supergrid' of low-loss 'HVDC' transmission lines would connect up a range of renewable sources of power across a wide area -- wind, waves, photovoltaics, and more -- so that their strengths and weaknesses can compensate each other, and so that peaks and troughs in supply and demand can be ironed out. In the scenarios up to 2050 developed by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), there would be an overall reduction of energy imports into Europe compared with the situation now, and an increase in the diversity of sources of power, thus strengthening the security of energy supplies.

Another attraction of the concept is that it chimes well with the thinking behind the creation of the Union for the Mediterranean. In much the same way that practical projects of the European Coal and Steel Community helped to break down distrust amongst countries in Europe after the second world war, a win-win collaboration such as the Desertec-inspired "Mediterranean Solar Plan" of the UfM can help to build good relations amongst different groups of people.

Applied worldwide, Desertec can be one of the most effective means of cutting emissions of CO2. Using CSP, less than 1% of the world's deserts can generate as much electricity as the world is now using. With HVDC transmission lines, it is feasible and economic to supply 90% of the world's people with 'desert' electricity.

The DLR studies estimate that by about 2017, electricity from CSP will be cheaper than electricity from fossil fuels, with a widening gap thereafter as CSP costs continue to fall, as fossil fuels increase in price, and with the added costs of carbon capture and storage or charges for emissions of CO2.

Sincerely,

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