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In the past, apst posters have responded to this poster's=20
postings quite rarely.
However, this posting, which is mostly from the science correspondent=20
of the Guardian, presents some interesting ideas re: energy and power.
Dave, you have particular expertise on energy/power questions. Any=20
thoughts?
-jh-
On Wed, 23 Jul 2008, Steve Wallis wrote:
> From today's Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/
> 23/solarpower.windpower), in an article referred to on the front page.
> There is a picture with the caption "A concentrating solar power (CSP)
> plant in Spain that uses panels to reflect light on to a central tower
> to produce electricity. Similar plants are proposed for north Africa."
> of a new kind of solar power plant that I had not heard of before,
> despite reading a serious newspaper nearly every day and having got
> New Scientist for the last six months. Perhaps this was due to a
> conspiracy to keep knowledge from us of how easily the world's energy
> problems could be solved, cheaply and without causing global warming
> (whether or not such warming has mainly been caused by humans).
>
> Maybe the political will to back such a solution will now be found,
> rather than taking up the expensive and dangerous nuclear option. The
> motives of many of the powers that be of divide-and-rule (with
> ordinary working and middle class people blaming each other for not
> doing enough to reduce our carbon footprints), by-products for nuclear
> weapons and the possible nightmare of allowing a terrorist attack on a
> nuclear power station to justify a massive clampdown on our civil
> liberties, will hopefully be overcome...
>
>
> Solar power from Saharan sun could provide Europe's electricity, says
> EU
> =B7 Huge =A335bn supergrid would pool green sources
> =B7 Brown and Sarkozy back north African plan
>
> Alok Jha, science correspondent
> The Guardian, Wednesday July 23, 2008
>
> A tiny rectangle superimposed on the vast expanse of the Sahara
> captures the seductive appeal of the audacious plan to cut Europe's
> carbon emissions by harnessing the fierce power of the desert sun.
>
> Dwarfed by any of the north African nations, it represents an area
> slightly smaller than Wales but scientists claimed yesterday it could
> one day generate enough solar energy to supply all of Europe with
> clean electricity.
>
> Speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona, Arnulf Jaeger-
> Walden of the European commission's Institute for Energy, said it
> would require the capture of just 0.3% of the light falling on the
> Sahara and Middle East deserts to meet all of Europe's energy needs.
>
> The scientists are calling for the creation of a series of huge solar
> farms - producing electricity either through photovoltaic cells, or by
> concentrating the sun's heat to boil water and drive turbines - as
> part of a plan to share Europe's renewable energy resources across the
> continent.
>
> A new supergrid, transmitting electricity along high voltage direct
> current cables would allow countries such as the UK and Denmark
> ultimately to ex****t wind energy at times of surplus supply, as well
> as im****t from other green sources such as geothermal power in
> Iceland.
>
> Energy losses on DC lines are far lower than on the traditional AC
> ones, which make transmission of energy over long distances
> uneconomic.
>
> The grid proposal, which has won political sup****t from both Nicholas
> Sarkozy and Gordon Brown, answers the perennial criticism that
> renewable power will never be economic because the weather is not
> sufficiently predictable. Its sup****ters argue that even if the wind
> is not blowing hard enough in the North Sea, it will be blowing
> somewhere else in Europe, or the sun will be ****ning on a solar farm
> somewhere.
>
> Scientists argue that harnessing the Sahara would be particularly
> effective because the sunlight in this area is more intense: solar
> photovoltaic (PV) panels in northern Africa could generate up to three
> times the electricity compared with similar panels in northern Europe.
>
> Much of the cost would come in developing the public grid networks of
> connecting countries in the southern Mediterranean, which do not
> currently have the spare capacity to carry the electricity that the
> north African solar farms could generate. Even if high voltage cables
> between North Africa and Italy would be built or the existing cable
> between Morocco and Spain would be used, the infrastructure of the
> transfer countries such as Italy and Spain or Greece or Turkey also
> needs a major re-structuring, according to Jaeger-Walden.
>
> Southern Mediterranean countries including ****tugal and Spain have
> already invested heavily in solar energy and Algeria has begun work on
> a vast combined solar and natural gas plant which will begin producing
> energy in 2010. Algeria aims to ex****t 6,000 megawatts of solar-
> generated power to Europe by 2020.
>
> Scientists working on the project admit that it would take many years
> and huge investment to generate enough solar energy from north Africa
> to power Europe but envisage that by 2050 it could produce 100 GW,
> more than the combined electricity output from all sources in the UK,
> with an investment of around =80450bn.
>
> Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK's chief scientist, welcomed the proposals:
> "Assuming it's cost-effective, a largescale renewable energy grid is
> just the kind of innovation we need if we're going to beat climate
> change."
>
> Jaeger-Walden also believes that scaling up solar PV by having large
> solar farms could help bring its cost down for consumers. "The biggest
> PV system at the moment is installed in Leipzig and the price of the
> installation is =803.25 per watt," he said. "If we could realise that in
> the Mediterranean, for example in southern Italy, this would
> correspond to electricity prices in the range of 15 cents per kWh,
> something below what the average consumer is paying."
>
> The vision for the renewable energy grid comes as the commission's
> joint research centre (JRC) published its strategic energy technology
> plan, highlighting solar PV as one of eight technologies that need to
> be championed for the short- to medium-term future.
> "It recognises something extraordinary - if we don't put together
> resources and findings across Europe and we let go the several sectors
> of energy, we will never reach these targets," said Giovanni de Santi,
> director of the JRC, also speaking in Barcelona.
>
> The JRC plan includes fuel cells and hydrogen, clean coal, second
> generation biofuels, nuclear fusion, wind, nuclear fission and smart
> grids. De Santi said it was designed to help Europe to meet its
> commitments to reduce overall energy consumption by 20% by 2020, while
> reducing CO=B2 emissions by 20% in the same time and increasing to 20%
> the pro****tion of energy generated from renewable sources.
>
>
> Backstory
>
> High voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines are seen as the
> most efficient way to move electricity over long distances without
> incurring the losses experienced in alternating current (AC) power
> lines. HVDC cables can carry more power for the same thickness of
> cable compared with AC lines but are only suited to long distance
> transmission as they require expensive devices to convert the
> electricity, usually generated as AC, into DC. Modern HVDC cables can
> keep energy losses down to around 3% per 1,000km. HVDC can also be
> used to transfer electricity between different countries that might
> use AC at differing frequencies. HVDC cables can also be used to
> synchronise AC produced by renewable energy sources.
>
>
>
> For discussion of global warming, including my views and articles from
> the media, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?boa=
rd=3D107.
>
> --
> Steve Wallis (Glasgow, Scotland)
> For im****tant/urgent communications, please email:
> warcrysteve@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
> http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
> My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
> My pages at MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
and Bebo:
> http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
> Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
> Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
> Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
> Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network:
http://www.revolutionaryplatform=
=2Enet
> My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
> Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist
> revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
> For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
> http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=3D156
> For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to
> http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=3D89
>
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