First Solar has joined the Industrial Desertec initiative

The Desertec initiative will attempt to build renewable power plants in the deserts of North Africa that will supply a significant amount of power to the Europe, the Middle East and North Africa by 2050. Photovoltaics, solar thermal, wind, and other technologies, along with experiments in carbon capture, will likely ultimately play a role in the project.

"We look forward to working with Desertec to demonstrate the potential of renewable energies - and PV in particular - to deliver clean, reliable power to the people of Africa and the Middle East as well as Europe," said Stephan Hansen, managing director of First Solar GmbH, the company's European sales and customer service unit for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "The challenges of energy security and global warming demand bold solutions and Desertec certainly provides an ambitious vision," he said.

Right now, everything is in the planning stages, but Desertec is shaping up to be one of the largest construction projects ever attempted.

At MENASOL 2010 taking place on May 4-5 in Cairo Oliver Steinmetz, Member of the Supervisory Board & Co-Founder at DESERTEC will be speaking extensively about their vision for solar generation in the MENA region, where the project is now and what you can expect to see happening in the next few months.

Those at the event will get the opportunity to ask those burning questions and have one to one chats with him during the 2 days.

For more information on MENASOL 2010 and Desertec click here:

http://www.newsolartoday.com/solar-conference

or contact:

Heidi Hafes
Events Director
New Solar Today
T:(+ 44) 0207 375 7206
E: heidi@newsolartoday.com