France signs on to Desertec
Today, an agreement was signed in Brussels for greater cooperation between German and French firms in the project to produce solar and wind power in northern Africa for export to Europe.
In Brussels, Dii head Paul van Son signed an agreement with Medgrid head André Merlin, with Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger presiding. Oettinger says there are only winners. "Now, there is a specific plan for the production of solar and wind power for the benefit of the citizens in markets in Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East."
For a long time, it was not clear how the German Dii initiative (formerly Desertec Industrie Initiative) with such stakeholders as Deutsche Bank, technology firms such as Siemens and ABB, and insurance firms such as Allianz and Munich Re would work with France's Medgrid. Potentially, the two initiatives could have competed. But more than a year ago, Van Son emphasized that all financial and technical capacity would be needed to implement the giant project, which has a price tag of 400 billion euros according to a report by the German Aerospace Center.
In 2012, Medgrid was founded at the behest of French president Nicolas Sarkozy to promote power connections between Europe and the eastern and southern countries of the Mediterranean. The French campaign includes such utilities as EDF and GDF Suez along with subsidiaries of Areva and Alstorm. (Niels Hendrik Petersen / Craig Morris)
