by Matthew Allen, swissinfo.ch
August 9, 2013 – 11:00

An ambitious multinational project to tap into the solar energy potential of North African and Middle Eastern deserts is facing a strategic tug of war between its commercial and non-profit backers following a split between the two groups.
Both factions insist that the Desertec project will succeed in building a network of renewable energy power plants. But the rift in early July (see infobox for details) has pitted the commercial dream of meeting European energy demand from North Africa against the need to achieve social and political stability in the region.

The idea is grand: research by Swiss-Swedish concern ABB, partner of Desertec Industrial Initiative, has shown that the world’s desert regions collect enough energy in six hours to more than meet the entire annual energy needs of the planet’s population.

Desertec, a multi-billion dollar initiative, is expected to take around 40 years to turn the dream of harnessing the desert’s energy producing capabilities into reality.

But it has faced pressure from a number of external forces since its inception in 2009, not least the economic downturn that has afflicted southern European countries and the Arab Spring uprisings that are still being felt across North Africa.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/Desert_solar_energy_plan_at_strategy_crossroads.html?cid=36623668

Desertec aims to build a string of solar thermal plantsDesertec aims to build a string of solar thermal plants (Keystone)