Solar Projects in North Africa + Undersea Cables = Green Energy for Europe?

"The abundant sun of northern Africa may soon power Europe's homes and businesses," reports the Washington Post, "as European leaders consider connecting massive North African solar projects to undersea power cables to free their continent from Russian energy."The projects would take advantage of the climate quirk that one side of the Mediterranean is far drearier and cloudier than the other, although Europe and North Africa are geographically close. Abundant desert land also makes North African megaprojects far easier than in Europe, where open spaces tend to be agricultural or mountainous. The sudden need for alternative energy following Russia's invasion of Ukraine means that North African solar projects intended to send electricity to Europe are under active discussion, officials and experts say, as European leaders see a straightforward way to secure large amounts of green power. Past proposals have suggested that North African energy projects could meet as much as 15 percent of Europe's electricity demand. The interest is especially high in Morocco, where undersea electrical cables already cross the 10-mile span to Spain at the Strait of Gibraltar. Moroccan leaders - who never had any fossil fuels to export - see a chance to promote their country as a renewable energy giant. Europe, meanwhile, wants to hit its ambitious climate goals and address its need for non-Russian energy at the same time. The result is a confluence of interests that could lead to a sudden leap forward for Europe's renewable energy uptake. More broadly, it is a test for the concept of shipping green energy from sunny parts of the world to regions where the sun doesn't shine as brightly.... Europe alone doesn't have "the potential for the scale to create the dimensions of the renewable energy that we need," said European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, speaking alongside Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita. The article cites estimates from the International Renewable Energy Agency that North Africa's "installable capacity" is 2,792 gigawatts of solar power and 223 gigawatts of wind power. Laura El-Katiri, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations who specializes in North African renewable energy, writes that could generate more than two and a half times Europe's 2021 electricity output.

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