Solar Power imported from Sahara to Europe within 5 years

[monotonehell]

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Europe will import its first solar-generated electricity from North Africa within the next five years, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in an interview on Sunday.

The European Union is backing projects to turn the plentiful sunlight in the Sahara desert into electricity for power-hungry Europe, a scheme it hopes will help meet its target of deriving 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources in 2020...

...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...

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/i ... 2F20100621

If Africa can do it across national borders and seas, why the frak can't Australia?

[yousername]

If Africa can do it across national borders and seas, why the frak can't Australia?

Because we're poor. Just compare our GDP to that of Saharan Africa. It's shocking how far we need to grow.

[Prince George]

Because we're poor. Just compare our GDP to that of Saharan Africa. It's shocking how far we need to grow.

Africa is playing host, but it's the EU that's footing the bill.

If Africa can do it across national borders and seas, why the frak can't Australia?

One of life's ironies - our coal reserves give us so much wealth for (comparatively) little effort that we can't bring ourselves to rock that boat by using that wealth to develop alternatives. That was the original meaning of the phrase "the lucky country": the country that wasn't being terribly clever, but gets away with it by good luck.

[AtD]

One of life's ironies - our coal reserves give us so much wealth for (comparatively) little effort that we can't bring ourselves to rock that boat by using that wealth to develop alternatives. That was the original meaning of the phrase "the lucky country": the country that wasn't being terribly clever, but gets away with it by good luck.

The jargon for that is Dutch disease.

Edit: Wait, you meant energy innovation, not industrial innovation. Nevermind.

[monotonehell]

All part of the same sticky situation we have gotten ourselves into, Adam.

Interesting thing this Dutch (Elm) Disease...
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/ ... 62546.html

[Prince George]

The jargon for that is Dutch disease.

Edit: Wait, you meant energy innovation, not industrial innovation. Nevermind.

Yes, the mechanics are the same even if the effect is different. When Donald Horne wrote "The Lucky Country", he was lamenting a nation that hadn't been developing its industrial base but was prosperous simply because of the demand for wool ("Australia rides on the sheep's back"). I imagine that you also saw those pieces in the AFR last week - the multipage liftout on the mining tax on the one hand, and essays on risks of a "two speed economy" on the other? I think they mentioned "Dutch Disease" there too.

[Omicron]

Yes. Europe is absolutely a model of fiscal responsibility.

[fabricator]

...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...

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/i ... 2F20100621

If Africa can do it across national borders and seas, why the frak can't Australia?

Under sea power cables, what could possibly go wrong ?

http://www.ripe.net/projects/reports/2008cable-cut/

On the morning of 30 January 2008, two submarine cables in the Mediterranean Sea were damaged near Alexandria, Egypt. The media reported significant disruptions of Internet and phone traffic in the Middle East and South Asia. About two days later, a third cable was cut, this time in the Persian Gulf, 56 kilometers off the coast of Dubai. In the days that followed more news on other cable outages came in.

http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/arch ... cut-again/

Mediterranean Undersea Cables Cut, Again
December 19th, 2008

Three undersea cables in the Mediterranean Sea have failed within minutes of each one other in an incident that is eerily similar to a series of cable cuts in the region in early 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_subma ... disruption
wikipedia article on both.

Brilliant move, now idiot captains with unwanted Anchors can cut power to Europe as well.
I hope this plan is printed on 8 ply, I hate that cheap thin

[AtD]

^^ Do you realise how many hundreds of thousands of undersea cables exist in the world? Three anecdotal stories mean jack shit.

There's a good chance you're using a few right now.

[ricecrackers]

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Europe will import its first solar-generated electricity from North Africa within the next five years, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in an interview on Sunday.

The European Union is backing projects to turn the plentiful sunlight in the Sahara desert into electricity for power-hungry Europe, a scheme it hopes will help meet its target of deriving 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources in 2020...

...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...

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/i ... 2F20100621

If Africa can do it across national borders and seas, why the frak can't Australia?

this is the argument the nuclear energy lobby like use to shoot down solar thermal arrays...ie oh its uneconomic to transport electricity over long distances (eg from the north of SA to Adelaide)
yet Europe will be doing it from Africa.

they wont listen though, their minds are already conditioned