Germany Looks to North Africa's Untapped Solar Thermal Potential

[jpak]

http://www.renewableaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50088

A study by the German Aerospace Center estimated that harnessing the sun's energy falling on just 6,000 square kilometers of desert in North Africa would supply energy equivalent to the entire oil production of the Middle East of 9 billion barrels a year.

The study calculated that solar thermal power plants could supply 68 percent of North Africa's as well as Europe's electricity by 2050.

One company planning to take advantage of this untapped potential is Flabeg, a German-based manufacturer of parabolic trough mirrors for solar thermal power plants. The company recently developed a mirror that can reflect 93 percent of the sun's rays.

The improved mirror can concentrate 99% of the sun's radiation onto an absorber tube with a diameter of 70 mm or less.

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