The German-led consortium, Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) and France’s Medgrid have finally reached an agreement that could result in the world’s largest renewable energy project.
The Medgrid Initiative corresponds to the DII, aiming to transport energy generated via solar power from the Sahara. DII CEO Paul van Son said that the French initiative sought to imitate Desertec’s structure, but possible collaboration was in the future since there was “so much work to do.” van Son said in 2010, “We need the grid extensions so if France wants to do this, then we can work together.”
In July, Tunisia and France signed a MoU for the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Co. (STEG) to develop electrical networks spanning from North Africa to Europe for the Medgrid proposal. Both projects signed an agreement to strengthen their cooperation on the development of industrial-scale renewable energy from North Africa. The DII currently has 56 partners from 15 countries with 20 associate companies from the Mediterranean basin lined up for Medgrid.
van Son said: “The long term development of renewable energy from the deserts would be neither thinkable without tight co-operation with local authorities and industries in MENA, nor without close collaboration between Medgrid and DII.”
André Merlin, Medgrid’s CEO, added: “I am very pleased by the cooperation agreement signed between DII and Medgrid.”
While Tunisia is on the DII’s checklist, it has chosen to begin its operations in Morocco. This could see the harnessing of the Sahara’s solar energy at greater speed, but the main issue will remain with the transmission and distribution over great distances for such large-scale renewable energy projects.
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