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| The '''Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation''' ('''TREC'''), <ref> and </ref> also known as '''The TREC Development Group''',<ref name="DevelopmentGroupTREC">{{cite web |url= http://saharawind.com/documents/trec.paper.pdf |title= Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation |author= Paper for Arab Thought Forum and Club of Rome, Amman |work= Saharawind.com |date= Version: 24-11-2003 |quote= The TREC Development Group. Formed by initiative of the German Ass. Club of Rome, and of the Hamburg Climate Protection Foundation HKF. }}</ref><ref name="JawetzSustainabilitank">{{cite web |url= http://www.sustainabilitank.info/2005/12/17/north-africa-middle-east-europe-renewable-energy-cooperation-an-elixir-for-the-future/ |title= North Africa - Middle East - Europe Renewable Energy Cooperation - an Elixir for the Future |author= Pincas Jawetz |work= Sustainable Development Media Think Tank |date= ] ] |quote= TREC… is the brainchild of the German Association for the Club of Rome and the Hamburg Climate Protection Foundation, and it seemingly involved ], ], ], ] and the ]. TREC actually was a paper for an Arab Thought Forum held in ] 2003, in anticipation of the June International Conference on Renewable Energies 2004 in ]. }}</ref> is a ] which was formed as an ] of the ] ] of the ]<ref name="DevelopmentGroupTREC"/><ref> (German Association ]) website.</ref> and the ] Climate Protection Foundation<ref name="DevelopmentGroupTREC"/><ref> (HKF, ] Climate Protection Foundation) website.</ref> in 2003. | |||
| TREC ] an increase of ]'s ],<ref name="MirrorsSeagerGuardian">{{cite web |url= http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1957692,00.html |title= How mirrors can light up the world |author= Ashley Seager |work= ] |date= ] ] |quote= European commission president ] said recently that he wanted to see the ] develop a common energy strategy based on low carbon emissions. The Trec scientists hope German chancellor ] will use next year's joint ] and ] leading economies to push for an agreement on a European DC grid and the launch of a widespread ] programme.<br /> “The outlook is not promising. More than 30 countries last week agreed to spend ]7] on an experimental ] in ] which critics say will not produce any electricity for 50 years, if at all. That amount of money would provide a lot of CSP power, a proven, working and simple technology that would work now, not in ]. }}</ref> and a concomitant reduction of its ] ], by ] for ] non-] ] to Europe via ] (HVDC) lines from ] and ] ]s in the ]s of the ] and ]. | |||
| TREC is supported by, among others, the ],<ref name="ClubRomeSolarforum">{{cite web |url= http://www.solarserver.de/solarmagazin/newsa2006_10_e.html#club |title= Club of Rome: German Politicians claim "Clean Power from the Deserts" |author= TREC |work= Solarserver forum |date= ] ] |quote= Politicians from the German Social Democrats (SPD) and the Green Party are campaigning for a cooperation between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East to develop renewable energy. In doing so, they are acting on a proposal by the ] to take this major step in fighting climate change. }}</ref> the ],<ref name="ClubRomeSolarforum"/><ref name="RolfHugSolarforum">{{cite web |url= http://www.solarserver.de/solarmagazin/solar-report_0207_e.html |title= Solar power from the desert rather than desert in Germany: renewable energy in a trans-European context |author= Rolf Hug |work= Solarserver forum |date= ] ] |quote= ], the ], the ] and the Scientific Advisory Council of the Federal Government for Global Environmental Changes (WBGU) together with other institutions and associations support this project. }}</ref> the ] (German physics society),<ref name="RolfHugSolarforum"/> the German Advisory Council on Global Change,<ref name="RolfHugSolarforum"/><ref> (WBGU, German Advisory Council on Global Change) website.</ref> ],<ref name="RolfHugSolarforum"/> and ] of ].<ref name="TalalChampionUNEP">{{cite web |url= http://www.unep.org/champions/Winners/winners2007/talal.asp |title= Champion of the Earth 2007 West Asia: H. R. H. Prince El Hassan Bin Talal |author= ] |quote= H.R.H. has supported global partnerships aimed at ensuring sustainable energy use, such as the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation, an organization which has had a measurable impact on sustainable development and which has pointed the way to clean and equitable energy production by sharing capital and know-how. }}</ref> | |||
| ==German Aerospace Center (DLR) studies== | |||
| The ] (BMU) commissioned and funded the ] (DLR) Institute for Technical Thermodynamics (see ], ]) in the early ] for three studies,<ref name="MEDCSP">"" ] (DLR) (ITT), funded by the ] (BMU).</ref><ref name="TRANSCSP">"" DLR ITT, funded by BMU.</ref><ref name="AQUACSP">"" DLR ITT, funded by BMU.</ref> to evaluate the potential of ] in the Middle East and North Africa; the ] and ] needs expected through the year ] in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa; and the potential of an ] grid connecting the three regions. | |||
| Dr. Franz Trieb, the ] for these studies, is a member of the TREC-Network.<ref name="MembersTREC"></ref> | |||
| Two studies, one on ] for the ],<ref name="MEDCSP"/> the other on trans-Mediterranean ] and ],<ref name="TRANSCSP"/> have been completed.<ref name="KniesTriebAlt">{{cite web |url= http://www.franzalt.com/index.php?pageID=60&article:oid=a5823&template=article_detail.html&flash=true |title= Sun cheaper than Oil |author= Gerhard Knies and Franz Trieb |work= franzalt.com Sun Page |date= 2006 |quote= }}</ref><ref name="GabrielSpeech">{{cite web |url= http://www.eu2007.de/en/News/Speeches_Interviews/April/0419BMBFGabriel.html |title= Innovative Policy and financing instruments for a sustainable energy policy in the European neighbourhood policy |author= ], BMU ] |format= ] |publisher= eu2007.de, the website of Germany's January-June 2007 ] |date= ] ] |quote= Studies on potential by the German Aerospace Center find that solar thermal power plants in southern Europe and northern Africa could play an important role in securing a sustainable European energy supply. }}</ref> As of mid-2007, the third study of concentrated solar power for the ] of ] is in progress.<ref name="AQUACSP"/> | |||
| ===Images from DLR studies=== | |||
| <gallery> | |||
| Image:Fullplan.jpg|] studies:<ref name="MEDCSP"/><ref name="TRANSCSP"/> hypothetical infrastructure of HVDC power supply to Europe from Middle East and North Africa. | |||
| Image:Fullconnection.jpg|DLR studies: hypothetical and existing HVDC transmission lines. <br />''Key:''<br /><font color="MediumBlue">Blue</font>: before 2020. <br /><font color="Crimson">Red</font>: after 2020. <br /><font color="FireBrick">●</font>: interconnections to ]. | |||
| Image:Fullneed.jpg|DLR studies: projection that solar power plants in desert areas indicated by red squares would be sufficient to generate the amount of electricity currently consumed by the world, Europe, Germany, respectively. | |||
| Image:Fullcosts.gif|DLR studies: projected capacity, land area, costs, etc., 2020 to 2050. | |||
| </gallery> | |||
| ==Feasibility and implementation== | |||
| The high solar radiation in the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa, twice that of ], outweighs the 10-15% transmission losses between the desert regions and Europe. This means that solar thermal power plants in the desert regions are more economic than the same kinds of plants in southern Europe. Although ] has in the past been proposed as an energy vector, this form of transmission is very much less efficient than HVDC transmission lines.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} The German Aerospace Center has calculated that, if solar thermal power plants were to be constructed in large numbers in the coming years, the estimated cost would come down from 9-22 ]]/] to about 4-5 EuroCent/kWh. | |||
| In addition to direct supporting measures, TREC proposes two projects which are technically feasible but would require financial and political support: | |||
| * Gaza solar power and water project:<ref name="MullerSpeechBMU">{{cite web |url= http://www.bmu.de/english/speeches/doc/39088.php |title= Energy, Natural Resources and the Environment: Challenges for Broadening the European Security Debate|author= Speech by Michael Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary for the ], at European "Integrating Environment, Development and Conflict Prevention" Conference, ] |format= ] |work= bmu.de ] website |date= ] ] |quote= }}</ref> ], for the combined generation of electricity and ] of sea water for ], which could, it is hypothesized, be located in the Egyptian ] coastal region. | |||
| * Sana’a solar water project: desalination and power plants could be located near the ] for the ] capital ] which is facing the exhaustion in coming years of its ground water reserves, much of it used to irrigate ].<ref name="GhabiriAriqiYemenTimes">{{cite news |url= http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=958&p=health&a=1 |title= Water expert: Desalination or displacement for Sana’a residents |author= Ismail Al-Ghabiri and Amel Al-Ariqi |work= ], No. 958, Vol. 14 |date= June 26-28 2006 |quote= Sana’a residents annually consume nearly 250 million cubic meters, 80 percent of which is for agriculture (of which the majority is used to irrigate ]), with 20 percent consumed by daily use and industry… <br />“Desalination often is viewed as some sort of magical solution to water scarcity in Sana’a and other cities, while others consider it expensive technology, especially when desalinated water must be transported over long distances or pumped to high elevations. In such cases, the amount of energy necessary to transport such water, rather than the desalination cost, becomes the deterring or constraining factor. }}</ref> The additional cost of transporting desalinated water or pumping it to higher elevations can also be a significant, even an inhibiting, factor.<ref name="GhabiriAriqiYemenTimes"/> | |||
| == Criticism == | |||
| The ]an importation of electricity from the ] and ] entails political risks when the quota exceeds a certain level.<ref name="MullerSpeechBMU"/> Furthermore the political barriers are high,{{Fact|date=August 2007}} because for a realisation of the concept a cooperation between the states of Europe (e.g., ] prefers nuclear power generation) and the states of the Middle East and North Africa would be necessary. | |||
| A realisation of the concept could be less problematic inside one national confederation, e.g. ] or the ]. The ] has said that Australia's national electricity grid could be fully powered from solar-thermal power by 2020.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} Solar thermal power stations in southern ] have shown their viability over the past fifteen years,{{Fact|date=September 2007}} such that neighbouring states of ], ] and ] are adopting similar technology.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} | |||
| ==References == | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| ==See also== | |||
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