Saharan sun to power European homes?

Twelve European companies have agreed to develop a solar power project intended to feed electricity to Europe from the Sahara.  A consortium of companies including Siemens, ABB, E.On and Deutsche Bank met in Munich yesterday to sign a protocol to develop the Ôé¼400 billion project. The project, named the Desertec Industrial Initiative, could meet up to 15 per cent of EuropeÔÇÖs electricity needs by 2050, as well as addressing growing energy needs in North Africa and the Middle East. Under plans for the initiative, solar farms will be installed in Africa and the Middle East and electricity pumped under the Mediterranean Sea to Europe via high-voltage cables. Member companies will each contribute around Ôé¼1.8 million during the first year of the project. It is estimated that Ôé¼50 billion would be required to finance the subsea cable network alone. Commenting on the agreement, Dr. Herv├® Touati, managing director of E.ON Climate & Renewables, said: ÔÇ£E.ON is convinced that the future belongs to solar technology in the long term.  "We share the Desertec vision of exploiting the sunÔÇÖs energy on a grand scale to supply power to Europe and the African countries. We are supporting the initiative with a view to making this great idea possible.ÔÇØ┬á Dr. Rene Umlauft, CEO of Renewable Energy at Siemens, said: ÔÇ£Desertec can make a significant contribution to sustainable energy supplies.ÔÇØ┬á The technical and financial requirements for the plan will be developed over the next three years, the consortium said. The project could create up to 2 million jobs in Algeria and Morocco. *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *