A short questionnaire about the potential benefits, barriers, and next necessary steps related to implementing an SSG was administered at the DESERTEC forum, “10 000 Gigawatts,” held at the Hannover Fair 2008 in Hannover, Germany. This survey is an on-going project; it will be administered at additional forums to broaden the respondent-base and increase representativeness of the sample. The following is a summary of the most important results from the Hannover event:

Benefits: Generally speaking, respondents expressed a high level of agreement with potential benefits of an SSG. Benefits include the following: (A) an SSG is a viable option for implementing EU renewable energy goals, (B) it offers new economic development opportunities for the Mediterranean Region, (C) it will increase European electricity supply security, (D) it will support adaptation measures to climate change (such as water desalination), (E) it is environmentally friendly, and (F) it is profitable. Respondents who perceived themselves to be more informed about the SSG concept tended to express higher levels of agreement with potential benefits. Additional benefits written in by respondents included economic opportunities, especially for North African countries, the opportunity to reduce fossil fuel use, and contribution to the promotion of peace.

Barriers: Respondents expressed a very high level of confidence in the availability of technology to build an SSG. They consider the threat of terrorism only somewhat problematic, but more difficult than other barriers to overcome. Investment costs are seen as a serious, but surmountable barrier. The lack of political stability and legal certainty in North African countries is perceived to be a serious barrier, but a majority of respondents believe it can be overcome. More informed respondents tended to perceive barriers as being less problematic than less informed respondents. Several respondents noted that lobbying activities directed by fossil fuel and nuclear interest groups could pose a barrier.

Next Steps: Respondents considered all next steps for developing an SSG suggested in the questionnaire as either important or very important. The development of a long-term climate policy and of a common EU energy policy were considered even more important than an EU-North African free trade agreement for electricity and the possibility to use renewable electricity produced abroad to fulfill national renewable targets. All these steps were perceived to be probable or somewhat probable.

Risk Comparison: There is no clear agreement among respondents about whether an SSG is more, the same, or less risky than upgrading the current electricity system. Generally speaking, slightly more than a third of respondents consider the risks of an SSG to be lower, less than a third think the risks are comparable, and less than a third think they are higher. Less informed respondents tended to be more critical of the SSG, while more informed respondents tended to perceive the risks of an SSG to be lower than those of upgrading the current electricity system. It is important to note that, among German respondents, there was a strong majority who perceived risk associated with the SSG to be lower than the risks of upgrading the current electricity system. On the other hand, a slight majority of respondents of other nationalities perceived risks associated with the SSG to be greater than upgrading the current electricity system.

The complete report is available and can be downloaded as a PDF document.

For more information, please contact Lucile Barras.

This section is open to comments related to the SSG Survey: