FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How can 'desert' power be transported to where it is needed?
What happens at night or on cloudy days?
How much will it all cost?
What is the worldwide potential of Desertec?
What about the security of energy supplies? (PDF, 45 KB)
Are there any other benefits besides the generation of electricity?
Could 'desert' power be used for things like steel making or the synthesis of fuels?
How does solar thermal power actually work?
Is it possible to reduce the amount of water used by CSP plants?
Given plentiful supplies of clean electricity, what is the scope for extending the use of electricity into non-traditional areas?
How can this be of benefit to the UK?
Isn't the Sahara too far away from the UK?
Aren’t CSP developments something for the future?
Is there a list of CSP projects to show take-up of the technology?
Isn't Desertec just a part of the discredited idea that we can have continual economic growth?
Isn't it true that technological fixes will not get us out of the mess we are inówe should simply learn to use less?
What are the environmental and social impacts of CSP plants?
What are the environmental and social impacts of HVDC transmission lines?
Do we feel comfortable with large industrial organisations being involved in the Desertec Industrial Initiative?
Isn't this just another neo-colonialist raid by rich countries on the poor?
How do CSP plants cope with sandstorms?
Since it can be cloudy near the coast, doesn't this undermine the idea that CSP may be used for the desalination of sea water?
With CSP, what is the energy return on energy invested (EROEI)?
Could there be shortages of materials to construct CSP plants or HVDC transmission lines?
Since wind power is relatively cheap, isn't this the thing we should all go for?
Isn't Desertec a case of "picking winners"?
Wouldn't it be better to generate our energy locally in a decentralised way?
What about Hermann Scheer's views about Desertec?
Is it possible that geo-engineering solutions to climate change might have an impact on CSP?
Could the proposed supergrid make us vulnerable to the effects of a coronal mass ejection?
By trapping solar heat, could CSP plants be adding to global warming?
Wouldn't it be better to wait until CSP and PV are cheaper before starting the Desertec project?
Last updated: 2011-01-10