As Europe tries to wean itself off of fossil fuels, it looks toward renewable energy like wind and solar. But many parts of Europe aren’t exactly known for their sunny weather, which limits how much clean energy the continent can produce. To remedy that, the EU is looking to build a gigantic solar farm across the Mediterranean in Tunisia that could power much of Europe.
The solar farm would produce 4.5 gigawatts of power from the Sahara desert in Tunisia. Underwater cables would transmit that power to Malta, Italy, and France. The company behind the project, TuNur, recently filed a permit request with the Tunisian government to begin construction, and if it’s approved the farm could be ready by as soon as 2020.
TuNur’s solar farm will be a concentrated solar plant, which uses mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a central collector. The collector contains molten salt, which can store the solar energy as heat. This type of solar farm has the advantage of being able to store energy for a longer time, which could help offset the power fluctuations from the rest of the EU’s clean energy portfolio.
If successful, TuNur could also help Tunisia build more solar power for themselves. The country has recently been plagued by power outages and shortages, and this project could provide money and experience for the country to build a solar plant of their own.
The future of the Sahara desert looks pretty bright.
Source: TuNur via Climate Change News
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