This is the number of Gigawatts that Europe wants to transport from North African countries, as part of the Transgreen project.
The official launch of the Transgreen project, in July, impressed many people! The aim is to build ‘energy motorways’ between Europe and Mediterranean countries in order to import 5 GW of solar electricity produced in North Africa.
Part of the Mediterranean Solar Plan, Transgreen brings a solid dimension to the Union for the Mediterranean and also echoes the German project Desertec, which is on the same scale. Desertec is planning to install power stations, combining thermic, wind, and above all, photovoltaic energies, between Morocco and Saudi Arabia.
For those who believe that such titanic projects are just wishful thinking in terms of energy, the scale of state and industry investment in them should give them pause for thought. The Transgreen consortium is formed of thirteen international companies, including EDF (Electricité de France), Alstom, Areva, REE (Red Eléctrica de España) and Taqa Arabia.
Find out more: The Mediterranean connected by renewable energies
