So why has it never been developed past proof of concept? My guess is that it hasn't worked that well. I'd be very pleased to see some proper commercial installation. I'm not against it at all - IF it can be made to work in a cost effective fashion.
Ouarzazate Solar Power costs $0.12 per kilowatt hour. Built on the scale I am talking about for export to Europe, the price would fall dramatically and certainly far enough to soak up the transmission costs.
As an engineer, I m rather surprised you are so wrong about the under sea cables and transmission loss. You might be right IF the power was being transmitted as AC. That would involve a lot of waste, because of reactive power losses, but no one is suggesting that. Properly dimensioned cables using standard materials run with very high DC voltages are very efficient and do not involve charging and discharging a giant capacitor also known as the Mediterranean Sea. HVDC undersea cables lose only 3% per 1000 km which is much less than AC transmission losses (7% per 1000 km).
The growth of renewable energy is not only reshaping the way society consumes power, it is disrupting conventional thinking in the energy in
www.theearthandi.org
Linking distant countries with different weather patterns could see renewable energy play a greater security of supply role. More information on the en:former!
www.en-former.com
apnews.com
