Can solar power be harnessed in the Sahara?

For perspective, the sun delivers an mind-blowing 173,000 terawatts (TW) of solar energy to Earth continuously, more than 10,000 times the world’s current energy consumption. A study published in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews explores the feasibility of harnessing solar power from the Sahara.

Could large solar farms in the Sahara Desert redistribute solar power?

Large solar farms in the Sahara Desert could redistribute solar power generation potential locally as well as globally through disturbance of large-scale atmospheric teleconnections, according to simulations with an Earth system model.

Do solar farms cover the Sahara Desert?

In our model, for instance, if the solar farms do not cover a large enough fraction of the Sahara desert (20% coverage or more), then the responses are quite muted (e.g., the S05 scenario, Text S3).

Can solar energy be used over the Sahara Desert?

Harvesting the globally available solar energy (or even just that over the Sahara) could theoretically meet all humanity's energy needs today (Hu et al., 2016; Li et al., 2018). Large-scale deployment of solar facilities over the world's deserts has been advanced as a feasible option (Komoto et al., 2015).

Could the Sahara be transformed into a solar farm?

In fact, around the world are all located in deserts or dry regions. it might be possible to transform the world’s largest desert, the Sahara, into a giant solar farm, capable of meeting the world’s current energy demand. Blueprints have been drawn up for projects in and that would supply electricity for millions of households in Europe.

Could teleconnections affect solar farms in the Sahara Desert?

Large-scale photovoltaic solar farms envisioned over the Sahara desert can meet the world's energy demand while increasing regional rainfall and vegetation cover. However, adverse remote effects resulting from atmospheric teleconnections could offset such regional benefits.