Comments on: World’s Largest Solar Project Planned for Saharan Desert

By: gregory oser

gregory oser — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:26:07 +0000

Where are they gonna get the water from?

By: Bridgette Meinhold

Bridgette Meinhold — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:15:40 +0000

Hi Labman,
Thanks for noticing the typo. Just corrected it.
As for your if’s, while I definitely think those are issues, I think the largest issue is cooperation. That’s a lot of countries with different political agendas to get to work together. Everyone will want something for free. Having worked with this technology a number of years ago, it’s not like the mirrors need to be cleaned every day, but still they do need a wipe down and that means at least a few jobs for trained locals in the area, which to me is a good thing.
Thanks for reading.

By: labman

labman — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:41:37 +0000

Note that the article mentions Siemens (misspelled as ‘Seimans’) as a lead industrial partner. The once-mighty Siemens has in recent years sold off all divisions of industrial value, and these days Siemens is living off utilizing political connections to channel taxpayer funds their way in governmental projects. They would not be able to sell anything in a free market. All projects where Siemens is involved are highly suspect in my view.

The concept itself is great and makes perfect sense if:
- There is reasonable assurances that hosting countries would squeeze it financially. This aspect can be managed Iraq-style, but those costs should be included in the planning.
- The cleaning of mirror surfaces is resolved – many studies forget this aspect. How often do these surfaces need cleaning? The costs of building needed water pipes from sea must be included.
- The building of transmission lines is planned and financed. To minimize losses it needs high voltage DC lines, not the ones used currently. It is feasible to build, but the effort is major – comparable to building new trans-continental highways.

Without above questions answered, it could be just an exercise of pleasing Siemens & partners, while disappointing consumers. I hope that will not turn out to be the case.

By: Christos Papageorgiou

Christos Papageorgiou — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:01:10 +0000

Photo Voltaic (PV) and Concentrated Solar Power Plants (CSP) are very expensive for large scale application in deserts. I believe that the low cost alternative of Solar Updraft Tower named “Floating Solar Chimney Technology” is the appropriate technology for deserts (See http://www.floatingsolarchimney.gr ) The following table shortly gives an idea about cost figures:

By: Alternative Green Technologies

Alternative Green Technologies — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:04:34 +0000

Wow, that is one of the most amazing things I’ve seen in a while.

I’ll definitely be writing about this on our Green Technology Blog

If they can find a way to get this done, I think we are on a very good path to oil independence. Are they any plans to harness the power of the US desert space?

By: renedegroot

renedegroot — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:13:07 +0000

An interesting documentary on this subject from
the Netherlands public broadcasting network VPRO,
Here Comes the Sun;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLHBFyfvK8A&feature=channel_page

By: cjwirth

cjwirth — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:51:48 +0000

Solar and wind power yield electric power, which cannot be used for large tractors/combines, long distance trucks, ships, airplanes, and most trains currently in use. We need liquid fuels. We will have spare electric power as plazas, factories, and offices close. To learn more see my research about this, google: Peak Oil report.

By: aaweeble3

aaweeble3 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:07:10 +0000

Wow, that is truly amazing!

By: alexjameslowe

alexjameslowe — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:05:26 +0000

This is exactly the kind of mega-scale project that the world needs to get its butt in gear. This is the 21st century equivalent of the Interstate Highway Act of the 50s. When people talk about governments updating infrastructure they always get the scale wrong. What we need are projects of impossible grandiosity like this one, and I’m sorry to say, it seems that America is too complacent and cynical to get behind anything of this scale. It looks like we’ve ceded our enthusiasm to Europe. I hope they treat it well.