« Better Trough Collectors | Main | Solar thermal technology, which uses heat to generate electricity, is on its comeback tour. »
August 29, 2007
Algiera's Solar Oasis
Solar industry could rise in the Sahara - Green Machines - MSNBC.com
ALGIERS, Algeria - It’s a vision that has long enticed energy planners: solar panels stretching out over vast swaths of the Sahara desert, soaking up sun to generate clean, green power.
Now Algeria, aware that its oil and gas riches will one day run dry, is gearing up to tap its sunshine on an industrial scale for itself and even Europe.
Work on its first plant began late last month at Hassi R’mel, 260 miles south of Algiers, the capital. The plant will be a hybrid, using both sun and natural gas to generate 150 megawatts. Of that, 25 megawatts will come from giant parabolic mirrors stretching over nearly 2 million square feet — roughly 45 football fields.
Posted by Sun at August 29, 2007 03:15 AM