Solar electricity imports from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2011.11.091

Energy Policy

Volume 42, March 2012, Pages 341-353

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.11.091 Get rights and content

Abstract

The huge solar resources in the MENA countries (Middle East and North Africa), significant improvements in concentrating solar power (CSP) technology and in power transmission technologies, and the urgent need to remove carbon emissions from the European (EU) energy system lead to an increased interest in an EU-MENA electricity grid interconnection. As contribution to the current discussions about DESERTEC, MedGrid and other initiatives this article describes the approach and results of an analysis of possible solar electricity import corridors from MENA to Europe including Turkey. The study is based on solar energy potentials of the MENA countries identified by remote sensing, reviewed performance and cost data of generation and transmission technologies, and geographic data and information systems (GIS) for the spatial analysis. CSP plants combined with high temperature heat storage and high voltage direct current (HVDC) overhead lines and sea cables represent the key technologies for implementing this promising option for renewable energy import/export. The total technical solar power generation potential from remote sensing analysis in the seven MENA countries considered was calculated to about 538,000 TWh/yr. This huge potential implies that less than 0.2% of the land suitable for CSP plants would be enough to supply 15% of the electricity demand expected in Europe in the year 2050. A GIS analysis of potential future HVDC corridors led to the description and characterization of 33 possible import routes to main European centers of demand.

Highlights

► Concentrating Solar Power in the Mediterranean Region (MED-CSP 2005) www.dlr.de/tt/med-csp. ► Trans-Mediterranean Interconnection for Concentrating Solar Power (TRANS-CSP 2006) www.dlr.de/tt/trans-csp. ► Concentrating Solar Power for Seawater Desalination (AQUA-CSP 2007) www.dlr.de/tt/aqua-csp. ► Risk of Energy Availability: Common Corridors for Europe Supply Security (REACCESS 2009) http://reaccess.epu.ntua.gr/. ► Combined Solar Power and Desalination in the Mediterranean (MED-CSD 2010) www.med-csd-ec.eu.

Introduction

The establishment of the DESERTEC Foundation in 2009 has created a lot of interest in the production of solar electricity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for export to Europe (Desertec, 2009). In the meantime, industrial initiatives like the Dii and MedGrid have started to develop a first strategic business plan for such activities (Dii, 2011, Medgrid, 2011). The press and media have also taken considerable interest and a large number of contributions to the topic have been published from both criticisers and supporters of the concept. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM, 2011) has proposed a Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) that could be very well in line with the DESERTEC idea, complementing the expansion of national renewable sources of electricity in MENA for its own economic development with solar electricity exports to Europe that could create labor, foreign income and economic development in the region.

A first scientific basis of the concept was laid down in the TRANS-CSP study by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and partners from the Mediterranean Region in 2006 (Trieb et al., 2006). The study shows that solar electricity imports from concentrating solar power (CSP) produced within MENA and buffered by local thermal energy storage can provide renewable base load and balancing power that is badly needed for a sustainable European electricity mix, because European renewable sources like wind and photovoltaic power are mainly of fluctuating character (Solarmillennium, 2011).

In the present paper we will characterize this scenario and the role of CSP imports for the future energy systems in Europe. We will give new and updated details on the quantification of solar import electricity and on the identification of import corridors from MENA to Europe.

Section snippets

Approach and methodology

This study is a result of updated and further developed analyses by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) based on ongoing and recently finished projects. The scenario for the long-term development of the European energy systems and the assessment of the possible role, costs and environmental effects of CSP imports is based on the work done in cooperation with regional counterparts in the project TRANS-CSP, documented in detail in (Trieb et al., 2006). Within the REACCESS project (Risk of Energy

A scenario for CSP imports from MENA to Europe

The TRANS-CSP scenario was the first to quantify potential solar electricity imports from concentrating solar power plants (CSP) installed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to Europe (Trieb et al., 2006). The scenario shows in a consistent way the transition of the electricity supply systems of thirty European countries starting in the year 2000 until 2050, aiming at a competitive, secure and compatible electricity supply as a long-term goal (Fig. 1). The main characteristics of such a

CSP model description

In the following we will describe the modeling approach and results used to estimate the performance and costs of the CSP infrastructure required for the scenario described before. For more detailed information please refer to (Trieb et al., 2009b).

Selection of transmission corridors

The procedure for identification of HVDC lines with minimized adverse economic and environmental side effects is characterized by the following main steps:

•
identify start and end points of potential HVDC lines,
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identify exclusion areas for HVDC lines,
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estimate cost factors for HVDC lines,
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produce cost-distance images for each start point,
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identify interconnections from all start to all end points with the smallest relative environmental and economic impact.

The methodology is described in brief in

Conclusions

The TRANS-CSP scenario published in 2006 shows a consistent way to a sustainable electricity supply system in Europe based on domestic renewable energy sources, solar electricity imports from MENA and balancing power from conventional power plants operated with fossil fuel (Trieb et al., 2006). The main reason for CSP imports is their capability to provide reliable base load or balancing power capacity on demand that will not cause uncontrollable fluctuations of power supply, but can be used to

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