Sahara Sun Could Power The World

We Could Power The Entire World By Harnessing Solar Energy From 1% Of The Sahara

Mehran Moalem, September 22, 2016 (Forbes)

“The total world energy usage (coal+oil+hydroelectric+nuclear+renewable) in 2015 was 13,000 Million Ton Oil Equivalent (13,000 MTOE)…This translates to 17.3 Terawatts continuous power during the year…[I]f we cover an area of the Earth 335 kilometers by 335 kilometers with solar panels, even with moderate efficiencies achievable easily today, it will provide more than 17,4 TW power. This area is 43,000 square miles…That means 1.2% of the Sahara desert is sufficient to cover all of the energy needs of the world in solar energy. There is no way coal, oil, wind, geothermal or nuclear can compete with this. The cost of the project will be about five trillion dollars, one time cost at today’s prices without any economy of scale savings. That is less than the bail out cost of banks by Obama in the last recession…and equal to 10% of world one year GDP. So this cost is rather small compared to other spending in the world. There is no future in other energy forms…

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…[D]amaging the desert ecosystem…is the least concern of all. The proposed project as shown only needs 1.2% of the African Sahara to replace all forms of energy production in the world. That is such a miniscule part compared to the total desert area in the world…Also it will save vast tracts of land that are currently suffering from strip mining for coal and from contamination by acid rain not to say anything about possible radioactive land regions in case of nuclear accidents. Furthermore, the Saharan ecosystem perhaps will flourish better in the shade under the backside of the panels. The current erosion of the deserts result in large sandstorms that contaminate and pollute the air in civilized parts of Africa and Middle East…Solar farms will actually benefit the life by stabilizing the sand...” click here for more

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