Out of Africa: Solar Energy from the Sahara
For years, the Sahara has been regarded by manyeuropeans as a land of little economic value or importance. But this idea may soon change completely. Politicians and scientists on both sides of the Mediterranean are beginning to focus on the Sahara’s potential to provide power for Europe in the future. They believe the desert’s true value comes from the fact that it is dry and empty. Some areas of the Sahara reach 00 degrees centigrade on many afternoons. It is, in other words, a gigantic natural storehouse of solar energy. (0)
A few years ago, scientists began to calculate just how much energy the Sahara holds. They were astonished at the answer. In theory, a 00,000 square-kilometre part of the Sahara - smaller than Portugal and a little over 0% of its total area – could yield the same amount of electricity as all the world’s power plants combined. A smaller area of 00,000 square kilometres – about the size of Connecticut – could provide electricity for Europe’s 000 million people. “I admit I was sceptical until I did the calculations myself,” says Michael Pawlyn, director of Exploration Architecture, one of three British environmental companies in the Sahara Forest Project, which is testing solar plants in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Pawlyn calls the Sahara’s potential “incredible.” (0)
Out of Africa: Solar Energy from the Sahara
For years, the Sahara has been regarded by manyeuropeans as a land of little economic value or importance. But this idea may soon change completely. Politicians and scientists on both sides of the Mediterranean are beginning to focus on the Sahara’s potential to provide power for Europe in the future. They believe the desert’s true value comes from the fact that it is dry and empty. Some areas of the Sahara reach 00 degrees centigrade on many afternoons. It is, in other words, a gigantic natural storehouse of solar energy. (0)
Birkaç yıl önce, bilim adamları Sahra'nın ne kadar enerji tuttuğunu hesaplamaya başladılar. Cevap karşısında şaşkına döndüler. Teoride, Sahra'nın 00.000 kilometrekarelik bir bölümü - Portekiz'den daha küçük ve toplam alanının% 0'inden biraz daha fazlası - dünyanın tüm elektrik santrallerinin bir araya geldiği miktarda elektrik üretebilir. Yaklaşık Connecticut büyüklüğündeki 00.000 kilometrekarelik daha küçük bir alan, Avrupa'nın 000 milyon insanına elektrik sağlayabilir. Umman ve Birleşik Arap Emirlikleri'ndeki güneş santrallerini test eden Sahra Ormanı Projesi'ndeki üç İngiliz çevre şirketinden biri olan Exploration Architecture'ın direktörü Michael Pawlyn, "Hesaplamaları kendim yapana kadar şüpheci davrandığımı kabul ediyorum," diyor. Pawlyn, Sahra'nın potansiyelini "inanılmaz" olarak adlandırıyor. (0)