Desert Solar Project Announces "Falling"

The Sahara Solar Energy Project was a sensation. The plan was to use solar power in the Middle East and North Africa to ease the tension in Europe. However, following repeated setbacks, the plan recently announced abortion.

However, solar energy is booming in the Persian Gulf countries, where the world’s top oil-producing countries are rich in Saudi Arabia and other oil and gas resources.

Despite the traditional concept, these countries enjoying oil wealth and attracting “black gold” are far away from the “green” in the present.

The $560 billion investment plan, the participation of many corporate consortia, and the political support of many countries have made it an ambitious desert solar project to take advantage of these advantages. The plan has stated that it will build a high-voltage power transmission network from the Sahara to the Mediterranean countries and provide 15% of the electricity to energy-hungry Europe. Today, this beautiful blueprint can only be fixed on the drawings.

A few days ago, the two major advocates of the Desert Solar Energy Programme and the Desert Industry Action Plan, the Desert Solar Energy Project, announced that their plans have failed.

In fact, prior to this, there have been various signs that desert solar energy plans are difficult to put into practice.

In 2012, Spain’s planned high-voltage grid access country stated that it refused to sign any agreement to connect high-voltage lines.

Subsequently, the two largest companies in the project, Siemens, the industrial giant, and Bosch, the world's largest auto parts supplier, announced their withdrawal.

Because of the global economic downturn, the German government’s interest in this hugely expensive project is also diminishing.

The most important thing is that from *** to Libya to Egypt, the political turmoil that swept through North Africa in recent years has aggravated the long-standing distrust of European countries in the region. Energy policies and standards are often closely linked, and European countries are increasingly not concentrating on entrusting their own energy security to turbulent Middle East and North Africa.

"The Desert Industry Action Plan" external spokesman Klaus-Schmidt said: "We do not want to see the bankruptcy of the plan, but this does not affect the development of the solar power industry in the Middle East and North Africa."

Indeed, when interest in Europe diminishes, renewable energy projects in the Persian Gulf, especially solar power projects, are developing rapidly. This wave of renewable energy development has spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Ironically, it is the “black gold” of oil and gas production that nourish the “green” in the region.

Among the many solar projects, an important milestone is the Shams-1 photovoltaic panel array that Abu Dhabi began operating in March this year. The project has a total installed capacity of 100 MW and is the largest in the Middle East. It covers an area equivalent to 300 football fields and can supply 20,000 homes at full load. Sultan, CEO of Masdar, who runs the project? Ahmad? Jabir said: "We do not urgently need energy like other countries, but from a strategic point of view, we do not want to miss the development and application of new energy technologies, and we are not willing to serve only as a supplier of traditional energy."

Together with other solar energy and wind power projects under construction and planning, Abu Dhabi, which is rich in oil resources, plans to use 7% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

In Dubai, the financial center of the United Arab Emirates, the government has approved a 13-megawatt solar photovoltaic project. The construction company is the first solar company in the United States and will start construction later this year.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is not willing to miss this feast for renewable energy. The country is seeking 100 billion U.S. dollars of solar energy investment with the aim of building 41,000 megawatts of solar energy projects. Saudi Arabia also plans to allow solar power to meet one-third of the country’s electricity demand by 2030.

Solar power will reduce the amount of oil and natural gas used in the country. Saudi Arabia can use the saved oil and gas production for export. The country expects to use solar power to save at least 5.23 million barrels of oil equivalent per day over the next 20 years.

In addition, Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, is investing in a 3.5 MW solar park on the outskirts of Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.