Construction of new concentrating solar thermal power plants has already begun in Spain and the USA (Andasol 1 & 2, Solar Tres, PS10, Nevada Solar One). Projects are underway in Algeria, Egypt and Morocco and further plants are planned in Jordan and Libya. Morocco is implementing a feed-in law to support wind power in particular. In the EU, discussions are in progress concerning the construction of an HVDC-Supergrid across Europe (a Euro-Supergrid) and plans for offshore wind farms in Northern Europe, with an associated HVDC Supergrid, are taking shape. The Union for the Mediterranean plans to realize a Mediterranean Solar Plan and could provide the framework for implementing DESERTEC in EU-MENA

State support will be required in the initial stages to make the building of power stations and transmission lines attractive to private investors so that enough solar capacity may be created in the period up to 2050 to cover the growing demands for power in MENA plus 100 GW of power for export to Europe (the equivalent of about 100 nuclear power stations). According to the DLR, less than 10 billion Euros of state support would be sufficient to bring CSP to the point where it would be competitive with fossil fuel-based power generation. Given the rising costs of oil and gas, this may well happen sooner.

The investments in constructing the cables and power stations could be undertaken by state governments, but international banks and private investors are ready to finance this infrastructure once the necessary conditions have been provided (as was made clear during the "10,000 Solar GigaWatts" event organized by TREC during the Hanover Fair 2008 — see www.Energy1.tv ). Feed-in tariffs and investment guarantees are needed to get things moving. Southern European countries could offer feed-in regulations for clean power produced in MENA. It would also be possible that feed-in tariff regulations in MENA could be financed via “Renewable Energy Credits”, which European countries would purchase, to reach a part of their climate protection goals, or (even better) to exceed these goals. Care should be taken to ensure that renewable energy in Europe itself should be expanded so that it is the major part of European energy supplies, as shown in the TRANS-CSP scenario up to 2050.

Whether the main focus of expansion of renewable energy in MENA is for domestic use or for export depends on the individual country: As an example, Morocco’s energy need is so large that initially a credit system would be offered. By contrast, Tunisia and Algeria in particular show a strong interest in the export of solar electricity.

As soon as the Southern European countries start to import energy from MENA, this will have an effect on countries like Germany which currently exports electricity to Southern Europe. This would make more power available for Germany, reducing the incentive to build new fossil-based power stations and allowing more time to expand into renewable energy sources. Countries throughout Europe can begin to import a certain amount of clean energy from the south over existing cables, but the construction of low-loss HVDC connections is urgently required. Because the planning, approval and construction of cross-country connections takes many years, the necessary studies must start as a soon as possible.

In addition to these direct supporting measures, TREC proposes two projects to help bring down the cost of CSP and at the same time to alleviate pressing social and political problems.  Feasibility studies have shown that these projects are technically possible, but require political and financial support:

1.

Gaza Solar Power and Water Project (PDF): To build CSP plants (1 GW in total) for the desalination of seawater and electricity generation. These plants, as part of a potential international recovery programme for Gaza, could be located in Egypt and provide power and water to 2-3 Million people in the Gaza strip. This project could make a huge difference to the living conditions and relieve the political tension in the Gaza region because it would reduce potential sources of conflict over shortages of water and because it would form the basis for healthy economic development. The total investment required would be about 5 billion Euros.

2.

Sana’a Solar Water Project (PDF): This project aims to build a desalination plant based on solar thermal energy near the Red Sea and to build a pipeline to the Yemenite Capital Sana’a which would otherwise be facing the exhaustion of its potable water reserves in about 15 years. This project could avoid a looming humanitarian disaster and social unrest in Yemen, and would save a cultural heritage of world-wide significance. The alternative of moving 2 million people from Sana’a to new settlements would cost about 30 billion Euros. By contrast, the alternative plan to build solar power plants and a pipeline would cost only about 5 billion Euros, and would clearly be much better value.

The DLR’s TRANS-CSP scenario shows one viable approach. Moreover, the countries of the EU-MENA region together have more than enough potential to make a complete change in favor of renewable energy for the power supply and transport sectors.

By the middle of the 21st century, the MENA countries could have converted their deserts to become inexhaustible sources of clean energy; overcome limits of growth caused through shortages of fossil fuels.  At the same time they could sell clean power to European countries, thus helping to bring European down emissions of greenhouse gases quickly, with a phase-out of nuclear power and with long-term reductions in the cost of electricity.