In a public lecture at Delft University of Technology on 26 September 2011, Dr. Jan Terlouw, former Minister of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands, gave a presentation before an international group of students. The lecture relates to CSP, the Desertec consortium, and the importance thereof for the Netherlands, Europe and MENA (starting 9 minutes into the lecture, and also at 15 and 20 minutes). Thanks to Hans Bienfait for organising the lecture.
Let the sunshine in (PDF, Credit Suisse Salon Members' Letter, 4, 2010, pp 60-61). This is an article about Desertec by Giselle Weiss, based on an interview with Gerry Wolff.
Clean power from deserts and adaptation to climate change (PDF, 311 KB, Our Planet, 2011-01-26). An article by Gerry Wolff, an updated version of The potential of power from deserts (SGR Newsletter, Summer 2007, Issue 34), with a section on how clean power from deserts can aid adaptation to climate change and more information about costs. Many thanks to Sir Brian Heap for the invitation to prepare this article.
Gerry Wolff gave the keynote closing address on The Desertec concept: clean power from deserts at the Renewables 2010 conference (Marketforce and Institute of Economic Affairs), 7-8 July 2010, The Bloomsbury Hotel, London.
Time to shine by Nick Pryke (PDF, 866 KB), Power & Energy Africa, April 2010, pp 30-34.
Can the Sahara light up Europe? (Green Futures, 2010-04-27). See also Can the Sahara light up Europe with solar power? (The Guardian, 2010-04-27). Contains quotes from Gerry Wolff.
Teachers TV has made a good film about solar power, with the main emphasis on CSP. Desertec (and the Desertec Foundation and the Desertec Industrial Initiative) is featured in the latter part of the film. There are clips from an interview with Gerry Wolff at intervals throughout the film. A low-resolution version of the film can be viewed here.
LEADING POLITICIANS BACK "CLEAN POWER FROM DESERTS". Dr Howard Stoate MP, with Desertec-UK, organised a seminar about the Desertec concept on 2010-02-02, between 16:00 and 18:00, in the Grand Committee Room in the Palace of Westminster, London. At the meeting, the following leading politicians spoke in support of the Desertec concept:
- Lord Philip Hunt, UK Minister for Energy. (Here is a Statement about the Desertec concept by Lord Philip Hunt).
- Mrs Amina Benkhadra, Morocco's Minister for Energy. (Transcript of Mrs Benkhadra's speech, PDF, 90KB).
- Charles Hendry MP, the Conservative Party's Shadow Minister for Energy.
- Simon Hughes MP, the Liberal Democrat Party's Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

The meeting was chaired by Dr Howard Stoate MP and the main seminar was given by Dr Gerhard Knies, Head of the Desertec Foundation.

Articles about this event:

Stoate chairs international conference on solar power (press release from the office of Dr Howard Stoate MP).

What's stopping us getting solar power from deserts? (The Ecologist, 2010-02-10).

Desertec bends the ears of UK political leaders (Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 2010-02-03).

When will the Saharan sun light up the UK? (CSP Today, 2010-01-08). This is an interview with Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK.
WORLD BANK GROUP: Over $5.5 billion in new investment for clean energy technology in the Middle East and North Africa region (TradingMarkets.com, 209-12-10).
World's largest solar energy project planned for Africa desert (Daily Telegraph, 2009-12-15). This report contains extensive quotes from Gerry Wolff.
On 2009-11-04, Gerry Wolff gave evidence to the parliamentary Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change for their enquiry into "Low carbon technologies in a green economy". An uncorrected transcript of the meeting has been posted on the Parliament website.
Morocco unveils $9 bln solar power scheme (Reuters, 2009-11-03).
Articles written for Renewable Energy Focus by members of Desertec-UK are now on the REF website:
- An introduction to concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) (Gerry Wolff, Belén Gallego, and David Hopwood, 2008-02-08).
- Parabolic troughs: concentrating solar power (CSP)'s quiet achiever (Stewart Taggart, 2008-04-02).
- CSP power tower technology (Stewart Taggart, 2008-05-01).
- CSP dish projects under development (Stewart Taggart, 2008-07-01).
- CSP sees a bright future for linear fresnel technology (Graham Ford, 2008-10-01).
- Renewable electricity and transmission; HVDC; and supergrids (Polly Higgins, 2008-10-01).
- Innovation in concentrating thermal solar power (CSP) (Robert Palgrave, 2008-12-01).
- Two other related articles have also been published in REF:
  - HVDC transmission from energy source to consumer (Peter Jones and Bo Westman, 2007-11-01).
  - Power stations: can solar power join the big hitters? (George Marsh, 2009-06-09).
Joint venture DII established and ready to take up work (PDF, 43 KB, press release from the DII consortium, 2009-10-30).
The authors of A Renewable World from the World Future Council (Herbert Girardet and Miguel Mendonça) were kind enough to ask Gerry Wolff for a response to what Hermann Scheer had to say about the supergrid idea and Desertec. They have put our two contributions on pages 94 to 96, as shown in an extract (JPG, 373 KB, click the 'enlarge' button to enlarge it).
Supergrid (BBC Radio 4, Costing the Earth, 2009-09-21, audio programme).
CSP companies (concentrating solar thermal power (CSTP) and concentrating PV (CPV)) show strongly in the "Global Cleantech 100" supplement to the Guardian Newspaper (2009-09-09) featuring 100 clean technology companies around the world that a panel of experts has judged to be particular promising. The CSP companies in the list are: Bright Source Energy, Concentrix Solar, GreenVolts, Infinia Corporation, and Solel Solar Systems. These companies are marked 'GCT100' on our list of CSP companies.
Concentrating solar power (PDF, 5.6 MB, World Cement, August 2009). This article by Gerry Wolff is an updated version of Gerry's article, “Bring me sunshine”, published in IET Power Engineer, April/May 2007.
Gerry Wolff talks about the Desertec Industrial Initiative with Marc Strassman of Etopia News (2009-07-16).
The Desertec Industrial Initiative has been established at a meeting in Munich on 2009-07-13. Founding members of the consortium are 12 blue-chip companies: ABB, ABENGOA Solar, Cevital, Deutsche Bank, E.ON, HSH Nordbank, MAN Solar Millennium, Munich Re, M+W Zander, RWE, SCHOTT Solar, and SIEMENS.
Gerry Wolff presented the Desertec concept at the "Manchester Report" event, organised by the Guardian newspaper and the Manchester International Festival in Manchester on the 4th and 5th of July. It was a series of talks about possible solutions to the climate change problem with Q & A by an expert panel and also from the audience. The Desertec presentation seemed to be well-received and has attracted some attention from the press (see Mirrors and wildebeest could save the planet, Daily Telegraph, 2009-07-04; Groundbreaking green ideas unveiled, Birmingham Post, 2009-07-05; Can cloud-making ships, giant algae "stomachs" and the lessons of the Serengeti save us?, The Guardian, 2009-07-06).
Concentrating solar power is ripe for exploitation (Environmental Research Web, 2009-07-01). This report, written by Vanessa Spedding of the ERW, is based in part on an extensive telephone interview with Gerry Wolff.
The insurance company Munich Re has announced the establishment of a consortium of companies to develop the Desertec concept (see, for example, European solar power from African deserts?, New York Times, 2009-06-18; Africa's sun to power Europe's homes?, UPI, 2009-06-16; German blue chip firms throw weight behind north African solar project, The Guardian, 2009-06-16; Munich Re touts Sahara in solar energy push, Reuters, 2009-06-16).
Early Day Motion (EDM) 123 08-09 has been signed by 174 MPs (2009-06-18). This level of support, which is regarded as "significant", puts the motion at the 29th position amongst 1816 EDMs.
The Climate Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers are now backing CSP. They have produced a document, Solar Potential (PDF, 1.6 MB), describing its potential.
Solar power is here and there. But can it be everywhere? (RenewableEnergyWorld.com, 2009-04-07). This article by Chris Stimpon of Solar Nation features Desertec ideas prominently. It was written in consultation with Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK.
Letter from Gerry Wolff in The Independent, 2009-03-28 ("Iran is the perfect powerhouse for renewable energy"). A copy of the printed version of the letter may be seen here (JPG, 246 KB).
At the Green Party national conference in Blackpool on 2009-03-21, two motions (PDF, p 29) were passed in favour of aspects of the Desertec concept (EN809 in support of CSP, and EN810 in support of cross-border grid connections).
From AC to DC: going green with supergrids (New Scientist, 2009-03-14). This is an article by David Strahan, a member of Desertec-UK.
A follow-up interview with Gerry Wolff, focussing mainly on the new Desertec Foundation, by Marc Strassman of the Etopia News Channel, 2009-03-06.
Letter from Gerry Wolff in The Independent, 2009-02-28 ("Solar power from the Sahara", scroll down the page). The letter is also reproduce here.
Ten Technologies To Save The Planet, Chris Goodall, London: Green Profile, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-1846688683. There is a good plug for the Desertec ideas in this book. The rest of the book makes interesting reading too.
Out of Africa: Saharan solar energy (Time magazine, 2009-01-26. See also the print version: page 42 (JPG, 1 MB), page 43 (JPG, 1.2 MB). To enlarge each page, click '+' in Firefox and similar controls in other browsers.).
The globalisation of energy. This is a Good Energy blog about the Desertec concept, 2009-01-09. See also information sent by email to customers of Good Energy.
Clean power from deserts (PDF, 525 KB, Forum CSR International, January 2009, pp 27-29). This is an article by Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK. The article has been reproduced on the website of World Changing.
Solar solutions (PDF, 1.28 MB, Industrial Fuels and Power, December 2008, pp 55-59). This is an article about recent developments and future prospects for CSP by Richard Priestley, a member of Desertec-UK.
Innovation in concentrating solar power - CSP (Renewable Energy Focus, 2008-12-01. There is also a PDF version (456 KB)). This is an article by Rob Palgrave, a member of Desertec-UK.
Early Day Motion (EDM) 1871 07-08 has been signed by 62 MPs (2008-11-21).
US elections: who will avert the energy crisis? (New Scientist, 2008-10-18). This article contains a section about Professor David Mills of Ausra and their plans for CSP.
Renewable energy: electric dreams (New Scientist, 2008-10-08). This special issue about renewable energy contains a box in one article about solar energy, including PV and another box in another article about HVDC transmission.
Clean power from deserts (PDF, 465 KB, Arab Water World XXXII (10), p 20, October 2008). This is an article by Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK.
CSP features in James May's big ideas: power to the people (BBC Two, 2008-10-12). The first part is between 8 and 14 minutes into the programme. The second part, about the synthesis of fuels, is from 50:30 minutes to 58 minutes in.
Electricity: levelling the renewables playing field (PDF, 1028 KB, Renewable Energy Focus, September/October 2008, pp 42-47). This article is by Polly Higgins, barrister and member of Desertec-UK.
CSP: bright future for linear fresnel technology? (PDF, 368 KB, Renewable Energy Focus, September/October 2008, pp 48-51). This article is by Graham Ford, CEO of HelioDynamics Ltd and member of Desertec-UK.
INTERVIEW—Sahara solar scheme could power poor West Africa (Reuters, 2008-09-24). The Akosombo Declaration referred to in this report may be downloaded as a PDF file (152 KB).
Response by Desertec-UK to the UK government's consultation on its renewable energy strategy (PDF, 95 KB, September 2008).
Tewfik Hasni (Algeria) and Calixte Jeuffrain (TREC-France) speak about the Desertec concept on French radio RFI (MP3, 4.6 MB, Les Visiteur de Jour, 2008-07-29, in French).
Gordon Brown backs Mediterranean Solar Plan.
CSP: dish projects inch forward (PDF, 276 KB, Renewable Energy Focus, July/August 2008, pp 52-54). This article is by Stewart Taggart, Director of Acquasol Infrastructure Ltd, Coordinator of Desertec-Australia, and member of Desertec-UK.
Solar power from Saharan sun could provide Europe's electricity, says EU (Guardian, 2008-07-23; see also Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph).
Dr Gerhard Knies, Coordinator of TREC, is interviewed by Robin Lustig on BBC Radio 4, The World Tonight, 2008-07-23 (Audio RAM, 1.8 MB)
Solar power in Europe (2008-07-19). This is a radio programme about the Desertec ideas on ABC Radio (Australia). It includes several sections of an interview with Polly Higgins of Desertec-UK.
Challenging 'voodoo' economics in the race for the best technology. This is an article by Polly Higgins of Desertec-UK in the July 2008 issue (12) of Carbon2Share, published by Colin Challen MP. It is in three JPEG files: Section 1 (379 KB), Section 2 (270 KB), and Section 3 (341 KB). Click the '+' or 'enlarge' button to show each image full size.
An interview with Gerry Wolff about the Desertec ideas by Marc Strassman of the Etopia News Channel, 2008-07-17.
Clean desert power (4.43 minutes streaming sound, Free Speech Radio News, 2008-06-13). This piece about CSP by Naomi Fowler includes interviews with Polly Higgins of Desertec-UK. Download file (MP3, 4.4 MB).
Concentrating solar power (approx. 8 minutes of streaming sound, DW-world.de, Deutsche Welle Radio, 2008-07-09). This is another audio piece about CSP by Naomi Fowler, including interviews with Polly Higgins of Desertec-UK.
Edition of the "Analysis" programme about solar power on the BBC World Service (MP3, 7.8 MB). This programme, which was broadcast throughout the day on 2008-04-28, contains interviews with Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK, and with Belen Gallego, Director of CSP Today and a member of Desertec-UK. The interviewer is Monica Whitlock.
Interview with Gerry Wolff on Network Africa, BBC World Service (MP3, 3.2 MB). This is an interview conducted by Peter Lewenstein and broadcast throughout Africa on the 6th of May 2008, 06:30 GMT.
Hot stuff: CSP and the power tower (PDF, 402 KB, Renewable Energy Focus, May/June 2008, pp 51-55). This article is by Stewart Taggart, Director of Acquasol Infrastructure Ltd, Coordinator of Desertec-Australia, and member of Desertec-UK.
Parabolic troughs: CSP’s quiet achiever (PDF, 534 KB, Renewable Energy Focus, March/April 2008, pp 46-51). This article is by Stewart Taggart, Director of Acquasol Infrastructure Ltd, Coordinator of Desertec-Australia, and member of Desertec-UK.
Energy Forum "10,000 Solar GigaWatts" (PDF, 167 KB) at the Hanover Fair, 23-24 April, 2008. Presentations from the forum may be viewed or heard via links from the 23rd of April and the 24th of April.
Concentrating solar power and the proposed HVDC supergrid (PDF, 397 KB, Science in Parliament, Spring 2008, pp. 34-36). This is a briefing report and notes prepared following a "breakfast" meeting of the Scientific and Parliamentary Committee in the House of Commons on 2007-11-13. The briefing report is by Gerry Wolff and Neil Crumpton and the notes are by Professor Peter Simpson, Secretary of the Committee.
Adjournment debate on "Concentrated solar power" in the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, 2008-02-28:
- Transcript from Hansard
- A video recording of the debate (ASF file, Windows Media, 44.4 MB).
Dr Howard Stoate MP made a speech about the advantages of the Desertec proposals and energy minister Malcolm Wicks MP made a speech in response. Desertec-UK provided the briefing information for Dr Stoate's speech.
Bold energy plan to be debated in Parliament (News Blaze, 2008-02-25). This is an article based on a press release from Desertec-UK and the office of Dr Howard Stoate MP. See also Solar plan debated in Parliament (News Blaze, 2008-03-04).
Ray of hope? (WorldArchitectureNews.com, 2008-02-24). This comment piece by Michael Hammond is based on an interview with Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK, and other information we supplied. An introductory page, Smoke and mirrors or a blueprint for clean energy?, contains Desertec-related pictures including one taken by Polly Higgins, a member of Desertec-UK.
Hello Sunshine (PDF, 2.1 MB, Geographical, March 2008, pp. 57-60). This article about the Desertec ideas is by Matthew Brace, a member of Desertec-UK. Geographical is the official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society.
Solar power comes of age (JPG, 1.3 MB, Carbon2Share, Issue 10, Spring 2008—newsletter produced by Colin Challen MP). This is a slightly updated version of Win-win: concentrating solar power published in Greenpeace Business in July 2007. To enlarge the image, click the '+' with Firefox or the 'enlarge' button with Internet Explorer.
Bring me sunshine (MP3, 11.4 MB, BBC Radio 4, Costing the Earth, 2008-02-08 21:00). This radio programme about solar power—with a good section about the Desertec proposals—includes interviews with Dr Franz Trieb of DLR and TREC and Polly Higgins of Desertec-UK. The pros and cons of solar power (BBC News, 2008-02-07) is an associated article by Maggie Ayre, producer of the Costing the Earth programme. Speaking on the programme about the proposed HVDC supergrid and the possibility of importing solar power from desert regions, Malcolm Wicks MP, Minister for Energy, said: "I think it is an exciting prospect ... I am very interested in that .... We have got to think in revolutionary terms ..."
CSP concentrates the mind (PDF, 832 KB, Renewable Energy Focus, January/February 2008, pp 42-47). This article, by Gerry Wolff (Coordinator of Desertec-UK), Belén Gallego (Founder of CSP Today), Reese Tisdale (Senior Analyst at Emerging Energy Research), and David Hopwood (Editor of Renewable Energy Focus), introduces a series of articles about concentrating power.
A solar grand plan (Scientific American, January 2008). Apart from the emphasis on PV and the idea of storing power using compressed air (CAES), this proposal is essentially the Desertec concept applied to the US.
An interview with Gerry Wolff about the Desertec ideas by Marc Strassman of the Etopia News Channel, 2007-12-12.
How Africa's desert sun can bring Europe power (The Observer, 2007-12-02). This report about the Desertec concept appears to have been prompted by Prince Hassan's presentation of the "White Book" about CSP to the European Parliament on the 28th of November 2007.
Europe looks to draw power from Africa (Nature News, 2007-11-27). This is another report prompted by the same event. Al Gore refers to this article in his slide show New thinking on the climate crisis.
All about: CSP (CNN.com/Asia, 2007-11-13). This is a short film about the PS10 CSP plant near Seville in Spain.
Desert power (Green World, 2007-11-16). This is a republication, with permission, of an article by Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK, that was first published in the Newsletter of Scientists for Global Responsibility.
Energy future: just deserts? (PDF, 181 KB, Environmental Scientist, October/November 2007, pp 19-21). This is also a republication, with permission, of the article by Gerry Wolff from the Newsletter of Scientists for Global Responsibility.
Investing in deserts (PDF, 1 MB, Risk & Reward, vol. 1, issue 2, Autumn 2007, pp. 4-7). This is an article about CSP and the Desertec concept, from an investment perspective, written by Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK.
A short film about CSP and the Desertec concept has been produced by film maker Peter Walsh. It features Katharine Hamnett (leading fashion designer and member of Desertec-UK), Dr Gerhard Knies (Coordinator of the main TREC group), and Tony Juniper (Director of Friends of the Earth). The film was made for Al Gore's new cable TV channel and was screened over the weekend of the Live Earth concert in London (7th and 8th July, 2007). The film may be viewed online here: http://uk.current.com/watch/133890732 .
Desertec and Dr Gerhard Knies featured on CNN:

Just imagine. Short film in which Dr Gerhard Knies talks about the Desertec vision.

Gerhard Knies: his vision. Slide show about the Desertec ideas.
Biography: Gerhard Knies.
Interview: Gerhard Knies.

Le solaire concentré: maintenant! (Natural Vox, 2007-08-22). This is an article by Olivier Daniélo of Objectif Terre and Desertec-UK.
Win-win: concentrating solar power (PDF, 107 KB, Greenpeace Business, July 2007, page 6). This is a short article about the Desertec ideas by Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK.
The potential of power from deserts (PDF, 350 KB, SGR Newsletter, Summer 2007, Issue 34). This is a feature article about the Desertec ideas by Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK, in the Newsletter of Scientists for Global Responsibility.
Catching some rays in the desert (JPEG, 149 KB, Money Week). Thanks to Mike Graham and Polly Higgins (members of Desertec-UK) for helping to get this published. To enlarge the image, click the '+' with Firefox or the 'enlarge' button with Internet Explorer.
"Desert Bounty" Where can one find an oasis? (News Blaze, 2007-06-25). This is a feature article about the Desertec ideas by Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK.
The BBC produced a TV report about the PS10 power tower in Spain (BBC News, 2007-05-02). The film can be viewed via a link from this page.
Concentrating solar power for energy security and climate protection (PDF, 2.9 MB, Imperial Engineer, Issue 6, Spring 2007, pages 14, 15 and 19). This is an article about the Desertec ideas by Neil Crumpton of Friends of the Earth and a member of Desertec-UK.
The lazy environmentalist (JPG, 1.2 MB, Concept for Living, Issue 102, May 2007, p 69). This is an article about the Desertec ideas by Polly Higgins, a member of Desertec-UK. To enlarge the image, click the '+' with Firefox or the 'enlarge' button with Internet Explorer.
Bring me sunshine (PDF, 520 KB, IET Power Engineer, April/May 2007). A slightly updated version of this article by Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec-UK, has been republished in The Oil Drum, 2007-05-31.
Speaking about the Desertec concept on the 19th of April 2007, Sigmar Gabriel, German Federal Minister for the Environment, said "... the idea is ground-breaking".
There are brighter ideas than nuclear (Utility Week, 2007-04-20). This is a JPEG copy of an article by Robert Palgrave, a member of Desertec-UK, contrasting nuclear power and its many shortcomings with CSP and its advantages. To enlarge the image, click the '+' with Firefox or the 'enlarge' button with Internet Explorer.
Neil Crumpton of FoE is interviewed by Peter Tatchell on "Talking with Tatchell" (2007-03-23)
How mirrors can light up the world (The Guardian, 2006-11-27). Following on from this article, there was an interview about CSP with Dr Gerhard Knies on BBC Radio 4, The World Tonight (see the first entry for the 27th of November on the News page).

Last updated: 2012-04-30 (ISO 8601)