Solar Power and Geopolitics in the Mediterranean (Powering Europe with African solar power)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/solar-power-and-geopolitics-in-the-mediterranean/

February 13, 2009, 9:33 am

Solar Power and Geopolitics in the Mediterranean

By James Kanter

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The idea is to build renewable energy hubs — based mostly on solar technologies — across North Africa to increase local energy security, provide millions of new jobs in countries like Egypt and Morocco and generate plentiful amounts of green electricity for export to Europe.

The project is part of an initiative formally presented by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France in July 2008 for a so-called http://www.ue2008.fr/PFUE/lang/en/accueil/PFUE-07_2008/PFUE-13.07.2008/sommet_de_paris_pour_la_mediterranee_4758">Union for the Mediterranean to bring the interests of European Union and North Africa closer together.

Underlining the geopolitical role that renewable power could play in the region, http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/ferrero-waldner/index_en.htm">Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Union’s commissioner for external relations and the European Neighborhood Policy, said the project could foster economic stability in North Africa while helping Europe break its dependence on gas from Russia, which cut off supplies to Europe in January as part of a dispute with Ukraine.

Ms. Ferrero-Waldner, whose http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/09/60&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en">speech on Friday formed part of http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/sustainable-energy-week-in-brussels/">Sustainable Energy Week at European Union headquarters in Brussels, added that Germany already accounted for half of the solar capacity installed worldwide and that Europe could share its technology with North Africa to create a “green Mediterranean electricity market.”

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