German firms plan giant solar power project in Africa - Summary

German firms are planning to harness the sun's energy in the North Africa desert in an ambitious project to provide electricity for European households, participants said Tuesday

The venture is expected to cost 400 billion euros (552 billion dollars) and start providing the first electricity in 10 years, spokesmen for two of the companies said.

Some 15 firms and institutions have expressed interest in joining the consortium, among them electro-engineering group Siemens, Deutsche Bank, insurer Munich Re, and utilities giants RWE and E.ON.

The consortium plans to meet on July 13 in Munich to formalize the so-called Desertec concept, a spokesman for Siemens said.

The project calls for a string of solar thermal power plants to be linked together in what has been described as one of the biggest privately financed ventures of its kind.

The plants use arrays of collectors to bundle the energy from the sun's rays, heat special oil and use the heat for steam to power turbines, Munich Re executive Torsten Jeworrek told the newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

The energy would then be transported to Europe via a direct current high voltage network, he said. This way some 15 per cent of the continent's electricity needs could be met.

"This is not some far-off vision, but technologically attractive and also achievable, Jeworrek said. "Desertec ... offers long-term incentives for climate protection and for an energy industry producing less carbon dioxide."

He said the plants would be located in countries that are politically stable, but did not give any names.

In the medium-term, the German consortium hopes to interest European and North African partners in the project.

"We are optimistic as regards Italy and Spain, Jeworrek said, but was sceptical about French involvement because they "are more interested in nuclear energy."

Solar thermal power plants already exist in the Mojave desert in California and in the arid region of south-east Spain.

Solar thermal plants collect the sun's energy through mirrors or lenses and use it to generate heat for electricity. The process is different from photovoltaics, the other popular form of solar power, which converts solar energy directly into electricity.

Siemens estimates that an area of 300 square kilometres in the Sahara fitted with parabolic collectors would be enough to meet the planet's entire energy needs.

The environmental organization Greenpeace welcomed the initiative, calling it "one of the most sensible responses to the global environmental and economic problems of our time."