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Europe To Import Sahara Solar Power Within 5 Years
An anonymous reader writes "If just 1% of the Sahara Desert were covered in concentrating solar panels it would create enough energy to power the entire world. That's a powerful number, and the European Union has decided to jump on its proximity to the Sahara in order to reap some benefits from the untapped solar energy beaming down on Northern Africa. Yesterday, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger announced that Europe will start importing solar energy from the Sahara within the next five years. It is estimated that the initiative will cost €400 billion ($495 billion). It's part of an EU goal to derive 20% of its power from renewable sources by 2020. From the article: 'The EU is backing the construction of new electricity cables, known as inter-connectors, under the Mediterranean Sea to carry this renewable energy from North Africa to Europe. Some environmental groups have warned these cables could be used instead to import non-renewable electricity from coal- and gas-fired power stations in north Africa.' To this the energy minister replied, essentially, 'Good question, we'll get back to you on that.'"
Wait a second. Doesn't the US have its own rocky deserts that are far, far safer and politically stabler from which to extract energy? Isn't the US the biggest economy in the world, *by far*? We should be the ones announcing these kinds of initiatives. This is the kind of infrastructure nation-building that would leap us to the forefront of alternative energy research, development, and exports, ensuring the growth of our economy for decades to come.
I'm also kind of surprised the EU is able to pony up this much money.
Where 'unstable' of course is defined as 'not controlled by our banks'...
That's a goddamn problem with subsidies, and has nothing at all to do with cabling.
People running around calling themselves 'environmentalists' are, once again, doing more harm than good because they're fucking imbeciles.
If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
Who is "we"? Western European governments launched the crusades. The Brits colonized the Middle East. The one thing that doesn't fit in your list is Israel, which declared its independence after decades of neglect, broken promises, and mismanagement by the British Empire. The de facto-- and de jure according to the UN and US President Harry Truman-- government of Israel brought stability and self-determination to a tiny part of a troubled region. The fact that the Arab residents of that region would rather steal, kill and destroy than be part of that dream is not the fault of the West or of Israel.
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.