Green Options

A contract has just been signed to deliver 600 gigawatthours a year of solar power between the US division of Spain’s giant Abengoa, and PG&E in California. Abengoa Solar hopes to succeed where BrightSource recently failed to overcome local NIMBY issues and Senator Feinstein, in its plan to site a 250 MW solar thermal plant in the made-for-solar Mojave Desert.

Abengoa Solar has signed an agreement to join as a founding member of the inspirational Desertec idea to supply Europe and Africa electricity from a chain of huge solar thermal projects in the Sahara.
The ambitious plan requires building direct current transmission to connect the continents, but once in place - would make it possible to generate a very large amount of Europe’s electricity with renewable energy.

And supply all African electricity needs with close to 100% solar power.

The plan has some critics. One; German Member of Parliament Hermann Scheer is worried about possible cost overruns. He calls Desertec a desert mirage; one that is politically and economically untested.

But Siemens CEO Peter Loescher says the project is no more far-fetched than the trans-Atlantic telegraphic cable laid by Siemens back in 1876.