Innovations Sahara: A Prime Location for Solar Power

1.2% of the Sahara Could Power the Entire World with Solar Energy. Solar energy is a promising source of renewable energy that has the potential to meet the world's energy needs. According to energy expert Mehran Moalem, it only takes 1.2% of the Sahara Desert to cover all the world's energy needs with solar energy. This is because the total energy usage of the world in 2015 was 13,000 Million Ton Oil Equivalent (13,000 MTOE) which translates to 17.3 Terawatts continuous power during the year.
Here are some key points to support the idea that we could power the entire world by harnessing solar energy from 1% of the Sahara:

• Covering an area of the Earth 335 kilometers by 335 kilometers with solar panels would provide more than 17.4 TW power even with moderate efficiencies achievable today.
• The Great Saharan Desert in Africa is 3.6 million square miles and is prime for solar power with more than twelve hours of sunlight per day.
• That means only 1.2% of the Sahara desert is sufficient to cover all of the energy needs of the world in solar energy.
• No other energy source, including coal, oil, wind, geothermal or nuclear can compete with solar energy in terms of cost and feasibility.
• The cost of covering 1.2% of the Sahara Desert with solar panels would be around five trillion dollars, which is less than the cost of the bank bailout during the last recession.
• Solar energy is expected to replace all other forms of energy in twenty to thirty years, except for liquid fuels which are likely to be replaced by hydrogen produced through the electrolysis of water and powered by solar energy.
• Nuclear power has a niche application, but it is not feasible to power the entire world with nuclear energy as the cost of a 1 GWe nuclear plant is about three billion dollars, and the cost of 17.3 TW nuclear power would be fifty-two trillion dollars.

 

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TuNur, a UK-based company, has proposed a 4.5 GW concentrated solar power (CSP) project in the Sahara Desert. The plan is to use the energy generated to provide Europe with an alternative carbon-free baseload power source. The energy will be transported through underground cables to Italy, Malta, and France. The TuNur project combines the generation of solar energy in Tunisia with dedicated transmission links to the European network. The Sahara solar could provide power to around two million European homes. This project will cover an area three times the size of Manhattan and will use parabolic mirrors to direct the Saharan sun at CSP towers reaching as tall as 200m. The heat will be stored in molten salts that run through these towers, heating steam to turn turbines, but also, the salt can hold heat for hours, and power can be generated long after the sun stops shining. TuNur argues that CSP offers the most economic source of stored power at present. The project is expected to cost €85m, and a further €1.6bn for the cable link. The cost of power is expected to be 8.73 cents per kilowatt-hour (c/kWh).

Can the Sahara desert power the world? Although the Sahara Desert could potentially generate a significant amount of energy, it cannot power the entire world. The TuNur project proposes using the Sahara Desert to generate solar power and provide energy to Europe, but it is just one project, and the Sahara's potential is far from being fully exploited.
Who has the greatest solar potential in Europe? According to data from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, Spain has the greatest solar potential in Europe.
What are the top 5 solar batteries? The top 5 solar batteries are as follows:

1. Tesla Powerwall 2
2. LG Chem RESU
3. Sonnen Eco
4. BYD B-Box
5. PylonTech US2000

Which European country is a leader in solar panels? Germany is the European leader in solar panels. In 2020, Germany installed 4.8 GW of solar panels, representing an 11% increase over the previous year.