Firm Created to Generate 15% of Europe’s Power Through Sahara Solar by 2050
Twelve companies and the Desertec Foundation on Friday formally launched a joint venture to manage a project that seeks to generate up to 15% of Europe’s power by 2050 with giant solar and wind farms installed in North African and Middle Eastern deserts. Firms include energy giants E.ON, RWE, and Siemens Energy, and investment companies Deutsche Bank and Munich Re.
The companies signed articles of association for DII GmbH, a limited liability company. According to the Desertec Foundation, the DII will accelerate implementation of the Desertec concept thorough analysis and the establishment of a framework for investments to supply the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region and Europe with power produced using solar and wind energy sources.
Signatories agreed on the need for efficient climate protection measures, and they also appointed a CEO to oversee DII: Paul van Son, who has had various management posts in the European energy industry, including as managing director of Deutsche Essent (Germany) and Econcern (Netherlands). Van Son is currently chair of the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET) as well as of the Energy4All Foundation, an organization active in Africa.
“Now the time has come to turn [the Desertec] vision into reality. That implies intensive cooperation with many parties and cultures to create a sound basis for feasible investments into renewable energy technologies and interconnected grids,” van Son said in a statement on Friday. “The DII will primarily focus on the economic, technical and regulatory conditions that must be fulfilled for successful project implementation. Early reference projects will allow us to learn for further rollout plans by the DII and other parties.”
The Desertec vision has gained the backing of several governments in Europe, the Middle East/North Africa since being announced in July. DII said it intends to collaborate closely with the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP), an initiative launched in 2008 by the French presidency of the Council of the European Union within the framework of the "Union for the Mediterranean.”
The Mediterranean Solar Plan aims to create a new balanced north-south relationship based on the promotion of sustainable energy projects. Both initiatives—the MSP as a political initiative and the DII as a private industry initiative—share similar goals and can therefore mutually support each other.
Shareholders of the DII include ABB, ABENGOA Solar, Cevital, Desertec Foundation, Deutsche Bank, E.ON, HSH Nordbank, MAN Solar Millennium, Munich Re, M+W Zander, RWE, SCHOTT Solar, and Siemens. DII headquarters will be located in Munich.
Source: Desertec Foundation