An ambitious euros 400 billion ($507.6 billion) initiative for a pan-continental electricity supergrid powered by a chain of solar farms in the Gulf and North Africa has been unveiled.

The grid will be linked to hydro-electric plants in Scandinavia and the European Alps, a statement said.

The Desertec plan by a consortium of European governments, non-governmental organisations and industrial corporations aims to provide 15 per cent or more of Europe and the Middle East’s electricity needs with solar power by 2050, said an expert.

A map of Desertec, which shows a chain of solar power plants throughout the Arabian Gulf linked by the supergrid to the rest of the Middle East and North Africa and into southern Europe, will be showcased at Middle East Electricity, a leading trade show for power and energy sector, to be held from February 8 to 10 next year in Dubai.

The Desertec initiative, which includes Munich Re, E.ON, Siemens and others alongside the non-profit Desertec Foundation, has given itself three years to set up a policy framework within the EU and the Mena region to adequately fund and transport renewable energy from the desert to Europe,' said Anita Mathews, exhibition director of Middle East Electricity.

The project, which was established in Germany last year, will also link onshore and offshore wind farms in the Baltic and North Sea, along with marine energy and biomass power facilities.

Germany's Solar Millennium is on track to complete a 150 MW solar thermal plant in Egypt this year which is seen as a template for a series of Mena solar farms in the Desertec project. Morocco is also expected to be the site of further pilot schemes - a natural choice as the country is connected to Spain by a sub-sea electricity cable.

A recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers argued that Europe and North Africa could achieve “complete independence” from fossil fuels by 2050 and that all the technologies necessary are already in place.

Dr Gerhard Knies, chairman of the Desertec foundation’s supervisory board, recently pointed out: “Within six hours deserts receive more energy from the sun than humankind consumes within a year.”

With this venture, the environmentalists’ dreams of a 100 per cent renewable energy future are beginning to take shape in the deserts of the Middle East, Mathews pointed out.

“The biggest challenge, however, will be to secure the subsidies that will be necessary to allow renewable energy to become cost-competitive to fossil fuels,” she added.

“Nevertheless, the sheer scale of the Desertec plan illustrates that the world is waking up to the fact that the Middle East has the potential to become one of the foremost producers of renewable energy,' Mathews pointed out.

'The task is already underway with Abu Dhabi being home to the Masdar project – the world’s first carbon neutral city – and the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency which is considering projects to produce solar and wind energy in the UAE and the rest of the Gulf.'

“Saudi Arabia is also planning to become a solar energy exporter and is building its first solar powered desalination plant. Qatar is in serious talks with investors to build a $1 billion solar power project. Solar projects are also at various stages of planning and implementation in Oman, Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, Iran and Iraq,' she noted.

“But for Middle East countries to be part of the ambitious plans to export solar produced electricity to Europe they will first need to show they can share it among themselves with further development of the GCC grid and links to neighbouring Arab countries, she commented.

“One day, however, the sun may not only power the industries and buildings of the Middle East but also Europe, providing a new revenue stream and cutting back on the burning costly fuel oil, diesel and gas,” she added.

Middle East Electricity is recognised as the region’s international meeting place for the power industry with this year’s show featuring almost 1,000 exhibitors with an attendance of 49,000 visitors from 105 countries, the organisers said.

The expo now in its 36th year, will focus on power generation, transmission and distribution; commercial, industrial and residential lighting; water; as well as new, renewable and nuclear energy.-TradeArabia News Service