For additional information:
The plan could provide around 15% of Europe's energy needs. The technology chosen would be solar electric thermal energy, which would transmit the electricity to the old continent via undersea cables.
Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan presented the plan to the European Parliament last week. The program has been developed by the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Corporation. Europe would provide the technology and the money and Africa would provide the land and the sun.
'Countries with deserts, countries with high energy demand, and countries with technology competence must co-operate,' stated Prince Hassan.
Although the cost of this technology is today substantially higher than conventional energy, large scale plants such as this one could easily bring it down making it competitive in the coming decades. What is for sure is that we are wasting a lot of the energy that our sunny deserts receive.
For additional information:
