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A landscape view the Saharan desert in southern Algeria between the cities of Illizi and Djanet.HOCINE ZAOURAR

LARGE SCALE: POWER FROM THE SAHARA



A solar source: The Sahara is a massive natural storehouse of solar energy - some patches of the 8.6-million-square-kilometre desert reach 45C on many afternoons.



Capturing the potential: The Sahara Forest Project proposes building "concentrating solar power plants." They use mirrors to focus light on water pipes or boilers, generating superheated steam to operate conventional steam turbines. A simple system, but one that doesn't come cheap: Scaling the technology to produce meaningful quantities of electricity is estimated to cost about $59-billion to be operational by 2020.



90,600



Area in square kilometres of the desert that could yield the same amount of electricity as all the world's power plants combined.



Source: German Aerospace Center



15,500



Area in square kilometres that could provide enough electricity for Europe.



1,000



Average constant amount of solar energy reaching the earth in watts per square mile.



Source: University of Oregon Solar Monitoring Lab



0.3



Percentage of light falling on the Sahara and Middle East deserts that could provide all of Europe's energy needs.



Source: German Aerospace Center





SMALL SCALE: BRINGING POWER TO THE PEOPLE



The problem: Only 20% of Africans have electricity.



Only 2% of Africans in rural areas have electricity.



35%: Level that African leaders wish to achieve.



The wind solution: African countries are more actively seeking alternatives to give rural families efficient means to cook their food and light their homes. Because the majority of the African population still has no access to electricity grids, small, decentralized and standalone sources of energy such as wind will have to play a key role.



337



Wind installations in Africa, 2006.



2,140



Wind installations in 2009, with a total capacity of 770 megawatts.



Source: World Wind Energy Report 2009



The solar solution: The most ambitious project is a $7-million effort in Zimbabwe: 9,000 solar power systems were installed throughout the country in a bid to improve living standards, but also to curtail land degradation and pollution.

The Rive Estate, 70 kilometres from Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, boasts one of the best solar-village models in the country. Fifty-two commercial farming families share systems; there is one system for every two houses. Each family has two lamps and a connection for a radio or small television set. The new lighting systems have allowed for extended study hours for schoolchildren, reduced rural-to-urban migration in the area and upgraded health standards by electrifying a local health centre.



Source: Africa Renewal

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