SIEMENS

What are the biggest challenges facing solar power from North Africa?

Van Son: There are three major challenges. First of all, solar technology still can't compete on the market on its own, by which I mean that electricity generated by solar thermal or photovoltaic plants remains much more expensive than electricity produced at fossil fuel plants. Secondly, despite the great interest in this issue in Africa, many of the players there still have little experience with large solar facilities and the requirements for linking them with the grid and the markets. Finally, more work needs to be done on the transmission of electricity from Africa to Europe because there are still a lot of bottlenecks in the grid.

What can be done to overcome these obstacles?

Van Son: Major companies like Siemens will play a key role here. They drive developments — not just in the Dii consortium, but also in terms of expanding renewable energy production in general. Such companies help establish technology paths, and their intelligent investment in innovation reduces the costs of applying the technologies. They also create a market that offers opportunities to small players. But one thing is clear: Solar thermal power will not achieve a breakthrough in Africa without government stimuli — in other words, subsidies in the early stages, like those in Europe for wind and solar power. Such initial support can not come from Africa alone; some of the money also has to come from Europe.

Wind power is already competitive in Morocco. So why doesn't the country simply go with that source, rather than more expensive solar thermal applications?

Van Son: Morocco isn't the only country with sensational locations for wind farms; Egypt has also been blessed by nature in this regard. There's no doubt that wind power will experience a burst of momentum. Still, the long-term potential for wind power is more limited than that for solar power. Just consider the sheer vastness of the Sahara. We believe wind energy will be overtaken by solar power over the medium and long terms in North Africa. Solar energy also has a big advantage in that the heat produced by solar plants can be stored in units near the facilities and then used to generate electricity at night as well — in other words, energy around the clock. Still, none of this will happen if the cost of solar thermal power isn't reduced.

That still won't solve the problem of transmission.

Van Son: That's true. So how do we get green energy from Africa to Europe? The biggest obstacle here isn't even the Mediterranean, since there are already cables near Gibraltar and additional ones will be added. There are many grid bottlenecks in Europe itself, however, like the Pyrenees — and there are also weak spots in Italy and Spain. European grid operators will therefore have to work together and step up their investment.

What activities is Dii planning for the coming years?

Van Son: We will stay mainly in the conceptual phase between now and 2012. We're now working at our offices in Munich on a rollout plan for renewable energy production in the MENA region and the export of green electricity to Europe. We are developing specific reference projects to demonstrate the fundamental feasibility of electricity from the desert. We are also building a network that links all of the participating parties in Africa and Europe, and are already continuously exchanging information with the relevant governments, agencies, energy suppliers, and grid operators. The number of members in Dii is also constantly increasing — at the moment there are 17 shareholders and 24 associated partners. The latter can not vote at shareholder meetings, but they are an important part of the Dii family. Actually, Dii isn't really that important. More than anything else, it's a vehicle to turn a vision into reality — the vision of green power for the Mediterranean region and Europe. This can only work if governments and companies from the countries involved believe they can benefit, and therefore work together across national borders.