Algeria signs up to Desertec initiative

The North African state has become the third nation to agree to host a solar farm in its desert as part of the ambitious global scheme. Alex Blackburne has more.

Sonelgaz, the Algerian Socièté Nationale de l’Electricité et du Gaz, or the National Society for Electricity and Gas in English, has signed a deal to export solar power to Europe through the innovative Desertec initiative.

The deal struck with Algeria is Desertec’s third.  It was previously announced that a large-scale solar farm would be developed in Morocco, with another agreement made with Medgrid, a French-led industrial energy project in North Africa.

Back in September when the German initiative was just finding its feet, it issued a press release about the prospects and possibilities surrounding its solar power scheme.

“The sun-rich North Africa is ideally suited for the generation of clean power from the desert, but often lacks the necessary expertise in the field of renewable energies to fully profit from this solar resource”, it said.

“North African experts from the Desertec Foundation are working together with partners from Germany and the Mediterranean region to address this skills gap through two new projects.”

And now, neighbours, Algeria and Morocco are the first two nations to realise the potential of the exciting scheme. If managed correctly, these, and similar projects in the future, could simultaneously and solely power the Earth.

Algerian officials wasted no time in expressing their enthusiasm about the scheme.

Quoted by Platts, Sonelgaz chief executive, Noureddine Boutarfa, said, “The development of renewable energy is a key strategy for Algeria. If the right conditions are met we are convinced that we can export 10 GW of solar power to Europe a year”.

Meanwhile, Algerian energy and mining minister Youcef Youfsi, said, “I am convinced that with these joint efforts [with European partners] we can overcome the technological, economic and regulatory challenges that need to be addressed to develop these new sources of energy”.

With further deals of a similar ilk, the Desertec initiative is not only plausible, but possible.

And with that, a sustainable future is equally, and encouragingly, likely.

The Desertec project is just a speck in our hopes for creating a blue and green tomorrow. The rest is down to you, and where your money is invested. To find out more about how your money can make a difference, ask your financial adviser, if you have one, or fill in our online form, and we’ll connect you to a specialist ethical adviser.

Picture source: Nick Taylor