2000 MW Tunisian solar farm to export electricity to Italy

• 12 years ago (2012-01-27)
• David Flin

Europe 1061 Renewables 752

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The Desertec Foundation has announced that it will construct a 2000 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Tunisia, to export electricity 600 km through a new submarine transmission line to Italy.

Thiemo Gropp, Director of Desertec, said: “With this important first step, we are showing the world’s governments, industries and consumers that what many thought to be science fiction is actually science fact. We hope that this is the first of many such plants to be built in the desert regions of the world.”

Project developer Nur Energie has identified Italy as a market requiring fast uptake of renewable energy if the country is to meet binding EU targets of 34 percent of all electricity sourced from renewables by 2020.

The TuNur plant will begin construction in 2014. It will be a standard CSP tower system on a massive scale, where 825,000 flat glass mirrors focus sunlight onto a collection point mounted on top of a tower, where the heat generated is directed to drive a turbine. This design is more effective than trough CSP systems in the conditions of the arid Sahara desert, because it has no water cooling requirements.

Kevin Sara, CEO of Nur Energie, said: “TuNur is going to be the blueprint for things to come. It is a pioneering project that other governments, companies, and individuals can point to and say, ‘Solar energy export from North Africa to Europe is possible and worthwhile, and the Desertec vision is attainable.’”