Desertec establishes joint venture, appoints CEO

Companies including Deutsche Bank AG and Siemens AG of Germany and ABB of Switzerland Friday announced the formation of a joint venture they hope will build a massive solar energy system in North Africa and the Middle East that could satisfy 15 percent of Europe's electricity demand by 2050.

The new company, called Dll GmbH, also appointed Paul van Son, a former energy company executive to the post of chief executive. Dll will be headquartered in Munich.

Desertec, still on the drawing board, aims to produce solar-generated electricity through a vast network of generating facilities and transmission grids across North Africa and the Middle East.

"We recognize and strongly support the Desertec vision as a pivotal part of the transition to a sustainable energy supply in the Middle East and North Africa countries and Europe," van Son said in a statement.

"Now the time has come to turn this vision into reality. That implies intensive cooperation with many parties and cultures to create a sound basis for feasible investments into renewable energy technologies and interconnected grids."

Van Son said the new company will primarily focus on the economic, technical and regulatory conditions that need to be fulfilled for the project's implementation.

Other companies in the consortium include MAN Solar Millennium and Munich Re of Germany, Cevital of Algeria, and Abengoa Solar of Spain.

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On the Net:

http://www.desertec.org