Answers on Dii and Desertec

What is Desertec? What is Dii ?

Desertec stands for the overall vision of supplying the entire world with sustainable power, by tapping the energy potential of the desert. Dii is an industrial initiative aimed at achieving the objective of Desertec in the EUMENA territory (Europe, the Middle East and North Africa). The specific target is to deliver the framework for large-scale utilisation of the energy that can be produced from the desert sun and wind. This sustainable source of power can replace fossil fuels and nuclear energy, while also promoting development in the region. Desert power is initially intended to meet the local demands of the producing countries, and should enable these countries to export such energy to Europe. Desertec is a vision: an overall concept rather than one centralised, stand-alone project. Numerous individual projects will be created in cooperation with local stakeholders (governments, companies), aiming to produce and transfer power generated from renewable energies. In this process, Dii is a facilitator, catalyst and coordinator.

Dii was founded in Munich in October 2009 as an international consortium, now numbering more than 55 companies and institutions, including the non-profit DESERTEC Foundation, and the Fraunhofer and Max-Planck research institutes. By the end of 2012, the major political, legal, regulatory, economic and technological frameworks to get in place the Desertec vision will have been created.

Dii is committed to the development of a market for renewable energies. Not only shareholders and associated partners will profit directly and indirectly from the success of Dii, but also any other companies, initiatives, states and economies that have a vested interest in our work. 

What are the goals of Dii?

In its pioneering role, Dii has three objectives:

• Creation of a positive investment climate: to develop the technological, economic, political and regulatory framework, thereby attracting interest as well as enabling investment in renewable energies and interconnected power grids in North Africa and the Middle East.
• Initiation of selected reference projects as a means of demonstrating feasibility and reducing costs.
• Development of a long-term implementation concept (rollout plan) by the year 2050, including guidance on investment and funding. The fastest possible integration of renewable energies into the market should ensue without reliance on subsidies. 

Will Dii build power plants itself?

No. As an industrial initiative, Dii assumes the role of a facilitator. It will ensure that development projects come to fruition, but not make any investments itself either by constructing or operating power plants. The focus of the planning phase until the end of 2012 is to establish the appropriate framework and create a lasting (market) structure for renewable energies which will make long-term commitments to solar energy plants and wind farms, as well as integrated networks, attractive to public and private investors. Dii also wishes to launch two to three reference projects with the responsible entities in North Africa in order to demonstrate the viability of the Desertec vision.

How is Dii related to the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) and the French Medgrid consortium?

The transmission of power from North Africa to the European markets is a key element of the Desertec vision. Dii sees itself as a pioneer in wanting to develop a market, hence it is open to all initiatives which contribute towards such a concept. Dii very much welcomes the foundation of Medgrid, an international initiative launched by the French government. Dii and Medgrid complement one another, and to some extent have the same shareholders. Whereas Dii concentrates on the entire value creation chain through to 2050, from energy production and transfer to development of the energy markets, Medgrid has chosen to focus on selected transmission issues in the Mediterranean region until 2020. In November 2011, the two industrial initiatives signed an agreement to strengthen their co-operation on the development of industrial-scale renewable energy from the deserts and a suitable transmission infrastructure. All of these activities are covered by the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP), a political initiative within the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). Dii and Medgrid will pool their resources and work in close cooperation with one another.

Why is Desertec often referred to as the "400 billion euro project"?

The concept proposed by the DESERTEC Foundation is based predominantly on studies by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). The figure of 400 bn EUR often associated with Desertec stems from one of several DLR concepts dating back to 2005. The figure represents the total investment, as a rough estimate, in solar thermal power plants and HVDC transmission lines that would be required in order to satisfy up to 17% of Europe's demand for power in 2050 from the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East. In this theoretical scenario, the figure relates to the entire cumulative investment to be made in many countries by 2050, in other words over the next four decades. On the one hand, this scenario cannot be put into practice on a 1:1 basis. On the other hand, the figure suggests that Desertec is one major, stand-alone project lasting 40 years with total costs that can be calculated mathematically. This does not reflect the reality, however, since the entire concept will unfold step by step across many countries, in close collaboration with governments, operators and many other stakeholders, thereby accounting for market conditions. The total costs of the Desertec vision will be much lower than the costs to be expected if there is a continued reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear energy.