Investors are seeking funding from
the UK government for an ambitious plan to import solar energy generated in
North Africa. BBC News’s Matt McGrath reports.
Under the scheme, up to 2.5 million
UK homes could be powered by Tunisian sunshine by 2018.
The company involved says they have
already spent 10 million euros developing the site.
A number of overseas energy
producers are competing to bring green energy to the UK from 2017.
The TuNur project aims to bring two
gigawatts of solar power to the UK from Tunisia if the company wins a contract
for difference (CFD) from the British government.
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| An impression of what a large-scale concentrated solar power facility might look like in the Tunisian desert |
Under new rules published by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (Decc) in the Summer, the government will allow developers of renewable energy projects that are not based in the UK to bid for contracts that guarantee subsidies to supply power.
TuNur, which is a partnership
between British renewables investor Low Carbon, developer Nur Energie, and
Tunisian investors, says it has already spent 10 million euros developing the
site in the southern area of the country.
The company has gathered three years
of solar data from the location, which it says has been independently verified.
Legislation has also been passed in
the Tunisian parliament to facilitate the export of the energy, and an
agreement has been reached with the Italian network operator to connect a
dedicated undersea cable to a substation near Rome.
"This is not a
back-of-the-envelope fantasy," Kevin Sara, chief executive of TuNur told
BBC News.
"We are working with some of
the largest engineering firms in the world. This is a serious project. Yes, it
is risky like any big energy project is risky.
"But there is nothing new about
moving energy from North Africa to Europe."
The company argues that existing gas
pipelines from Algeria that run through Tunisia have operated without a glitch
through the turbulence that has followed on from the Arab Spring.
Their plans involve using
concentrated solar power (CSP) technology. This allows the developers to store
some of the energy generated so that the supply is "dispatchable". It
can be switched on or off on demand.
The company involved says its
electricity supplies will be secure, and 20% cheaper than home-grown sources,
such as offshore wind.
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