Headline:
Prof. Rubbia gives keynote address at the 3rd Dii Desert Energy Conference
On November 7 2012 IASS Scientific Director Prof. Rubbia gave a keynote address during the 3rd Dii Desert Energy Conference, an international event held at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin from November 7 through 9.
The conference aimed at building upon the recently published long-term strategy “Desert Power 2050”, which proposes a unique solution to the future European, Middle Eastern and North African energy supply challenges through the creation of a united renewable energy power system, focused on solar power.
High-level international representatives from the political and scientific communities, civil society and industry met to discuss the DESERTEC Concept and identify the steps needed to reach this goal. The conference featured keynote speeches by Mr. Peter Altmaier, German Federal Minister for the Environment, Mr. Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Energy, as well as Ministers and government representatives from other European, Middle Eastern and African countries.
At the core of the DESERTEC Concept is the concentrating solar power (CSP) technology, a more efficient system for harnessing solar power, but which can only operate when direct sunlight is available.
During his presidency (1999-2005) of the Italian Agency for new technologies, energy and the environment (ENEA), Prof. Rubbia, a long-time CSP advocate, initiated R&D efforts to overcome this problem by achieving heat storage through molten salts. This endeavor eventually led to the construction and inauguration in 2010 of the Archimede CSP Power Plant in Priolo Gargallo, Italy.
The IASS E3 Cluster is currently carrying out research in an international cooperation framework to keep improving CSP technology and facilitate its widespread implementation.
Documents:
Nothing is new under the Sun (pdf) - historical origins and milestones in the development of solar power.