Here Comes the Sun — All the Way From Africa

A new project, dubbed Desertec, could harvest Africa's sun power and pipe it — at a price — to Europe. According to its backers, the project could eventually provide up to 15 percent of Europe's energy.

The idea is simple. There's unending sunshine available in Africa. There's an unending need for clean energy in Europe. Based on the law of supply and demand, the idea makes perfect sense. And last week, a consortium of German businesses began the process of pursing financing to bring it to life.

If completed, Desertec really does have the potential to be a huge provider of clean energy. In fact, it would be the largest centralized solar power production project on earth. And, according to a New York Times article, "Large-scale ... projects [of this kind] — essentially expansive fields of solar collectors, or mirrors, that concentrate rays from the intense desert sun to heat water, generate steam, drive turbines and produce electricity — are not revolutionary. Such projects have been undertaken in the U.S. Southwest, Spain and elsewhere."

Still, the project is not a shoe-in for success. The reasons are more political and financial than technical. A huge project in Africa could, indeed, produce a great deal of power — but wind and geothermal power are already available at home in Europe. Meanwhile, some pundits have raised questions about making Europe dependent upon power from politically unstable countries on another continent.

In theory, Desertec could become a tool for forging stronger friendships between nations. Whether it actually does so remains to be seen.