Could Desertec be hamstrung by Algerian apathy?

, the visionary US$550 billion 550 (Dh2.02 trillion) project to power Europe with renewable energy from the MENA region, took a step forward on October 30 when its 12 founding companies formed a joint venture as a legal entity under German law.

But already the project is getting getting a lukewarm reception from Algeria.

The Algerian government has been tightening terms for direct foreign investment. It says it will only work with Desertec if the consortium agrees to allow technology transfer through partnerships with Algerian firms.

"If these conditions are not met, we are not interested," Chakib Khelil, the miniser of energy and mines, told reporters recently. "We don't want foreign companies exploiting solar energy from our land."

Algerian media quoted the minister as saying : "Desertec is a group of companies who have not made concrete investment proposals. I hope that the projects are installed in Algeria. We are ready to participate, but on our conditions. ... We don't want foreigners coming to build power stations in our country and asking us to buy electricity, at what price. If they sell me the electricity at 10 times the price of Sonelgaz, I'm not going to buy this energy."

is the Algerian state electricity and gas utility.

Algeria's misgivings about Desertec are in contrast to Moroccan enthusiasm for the project. Morocco, which imports 96 per cent of its energy, has announced a $9 billion (Dh33bn) solar programme aimed at installing 2,000 megawatts of power generating capacity by 2020. It has already identified several coastal sites that would be convenient for exporting electricity to Europe. So far, it is the only North African country connected to Europe's power grid, through a high-capacity undersea transmission cable.

"Morocco doesn't have even 1 per cent of Europe's energy consumption, so let's be realistic. We could be generating enough power for us and for export for the next 100 years," says Said Mouline, the head of

.

However, it will take tight pan-Maghreb co-operation to make Desertec work, experts say.

The prospects for this are not good. For a start, Algeria is at odds with Algeria over Western Sahara, and the border between them is closed.

On the other hand, Sonelgaz and its Moroccan counterpart

recently completed a 400 kilovolt electricity grid interconnection, allowing large amounts of power to flow in both directions.

According to the

(MEES), this shows that the export infrastructure would be available to send power from Algerian solar projects to Europe.

But political will is also essential. MEES notes that Algeria's government has not shown much willingness to date to share the country's natural resources.

Pic courtesy of Environmena.