"Sahara Power" needs pan-European grid operator

by Gert van Wijland

A consortium of leading European – mostly German – companies plans to invest €400 billion in a megaproject to generate solar power in the Sahara desert. “Desertec”, as the project is called, could cover 15 percent of European electricity demand. The problem is, how do you transport this power to Paris and Berlin? ‘It will not work without a pan-European grid operator.’