Prospects for Large-Scale Solar Thermal Electricity Generation From the Libyan Desert: Technical Feasibility

Abstract

The Great Sahara desert covers the entire range of Libyan longitude 11° 44′ to 23° 58′ E and a latitude range of 24° 17′ through to 30° 31′N, thus covering an area of 1,750,000 sq km and 88% of this land is desert. The authors have measured hourly solar radiation at Kufra oasis (24° 17′N, 23° 15′E) within the Libyan Desert and found it to be a most reliable and consistent energy resource — the rain fall averages a few mm every 30 years. With no cloud cover throughout the year, the measured noon clearness-index often exceeding 0.84 and availability of large volumes of potable water from underground aquifers, large-scale electrical generation warrants a serious feasibility study. This article presents the technical feasibility for Cylindrical Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) thermal energy conversion.