Why aren’t solar panels being built in the Sahara?

Obviously, the best places to install solar power plants are those with a lot of hours of sunshine per day. However, great deserts such as Is it Gobi or Saharastay free from solar panels. You might think that the reason is climate change. But that won’t be a problem since you have energy storage batteries which is obtained during sunny hours at night or on cloudy days. So why aren’t solar panels being built in the Sahara yet?

The truth is that this is a difficult question. According to the physicist Gerhard Kniesassembled Confidential, deserts around the world receive more solar energy (173,000 terawatts) in just six hours than people consume in a year. In addition, only in the Sahara it would be possible to obtain energy to supply 96 lands. But there is a problem.

Just 15% energy absorbed Solar panels convert it into electricity. The rest is returned to the atmosphere as heat, which can greatly exacerbate global warming. Is it an irresistible reason? Not for other experts, but the truth is that it’s still a difficult decision.

The danger of solar panels in the desert

Solar panels are darker desert sand. This usually helps store excess solar energy. However, being darker, the plates will absorb more. The problem is that, unlike sand, slabs come back they do not use energy back into the atmosphere. This returned heat can be airborne to other areas of the planet, causing serious climate problems.

But here’s what would happen if we covered the entire Sahara, or any other great desert, with solar panels. Some experts believe that this is enough. cover a small area. Thus, although not much energy will be received, the atmosphere will also not heat up as much. In fact, according to Mehran Moalemprofessor at the University of California, would be enough to cover 1.2% desert to get enough power. But even then, there will be other drawbacks, as this scientist rightly admits in a study published in The science.

ecosystem changes

Since solar panels would absorb a significant part solar radiationwill reduce albedo. That is, the percentage of radiation reflected by the surface in relation to the incident on it. This, together with the increase surface frictionwill help increase precipitationwhich, in turn, will contribute to the growth vegetation. This will cause even more precipitation, bringing back the previous situation. In short, there will be changes in the ecosystem, affecting species adapted to a different type of landscape.

A political issue that cannot be left aside

talking to BBC, Tony Pattprofessor of climate policy at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, argues that the problem more political than scientific.

In particular, remember that although prices are becoming more competitive, solar power is still more expensive than derived from fossil fuels. For this reason, he doubts that places like Europe would be willing to make such investments if jobs go to non-European countries. It should be noted that for the entire installation 10% of global GDPSo it’s not a trifle.

Also, a logical thing added in the same environment Dani Egbechemist and World Bank analyst, is that this electricity and jobs should be shared with Africans.

just around 30% of the population of countries south of the Sahara have access to electricity. For this reason, if solar panels are installed in the Sahara, it would be fair and logical to share the benefits with them. To ensure this, there is African Solar Power Networkthe purpose of which is precisely to ensure that Africans are taken into account when making such decisions.

As a result, getting solar power in the Sahara is not as easy as coming and covering it with solar panels. There are many things to take into account. Perhaps in the future this will become a plausible solution, given the methods of preventing its impact on the climate. But today, most experts agree that it will be very difficult.