Medgrid
Encyclopedia
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, is a large industrial project planned in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, which aims to promote and develop a Euro-Mediterranean
Euro-Mediterranean region
The Euro-Mediterranean region encompasses all the European countries and the countries on the northern Mediterranean Rim.- Bibliography :* Stefania Panebianco, New Euro-Mediterranean Cultural Identity, Routledge, 2003...
electricity network that would provide North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
& Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with inexpensive renewable electricity
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
, mostly from solar. The goal is to install 20GW of generating capacity, with 5GW being devoted to exports for Europe.
The Medgrid project was envisioned by a consortium of twenty plus utilities, grid operators, equipment makers,financing institutions and investors, mostly European. They include, Alstom SA
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
(France), Areva SA
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
(France), Abengoa SA
Abengoa
Abengoa is a Spanish multinational corporation, which includes companies in the domains of energy, telecommunications, transportation, and the environment...
(Spain) , EDF SA
EDF
- Military :* Elmendorf Air Force Base, a United States Air Force Base in Alaska* Estonian Defence Forces, military of the Republic of Estonia* European Defence Force, an international military force by the European Council- Organizations :...
(France), GDF Suez SA
GDF Suez
GDF Suez S.A. is a French multinational energy company which operates in the fields of electricity generation and distribution, natural gas and renewable energy. The world's largest utility after taking control of Britain's International Power, the company was initially formed by the merger of Gaz...
(France), Prysmian
Prysmian
Prysmian is an Italian-based multinational corporation headquartered in Milan and listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, manufacturing and laying cables for the energy and telecommunications sectors, it's the market leader, also thanks to the acquisition of Draka Holding...
(Italy), Terna SA
Terna (company)
Terna S.p.A. - Rete Elettrica Nazionale is a company based in Rome which owns and operates around 98% of the Italian high-voltage power transmission grid. Formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of Enel, the company was IPO-ed in 2004. Enel continues to hold around 5% of the firm, with the major...
(Italy), Red Electrica Corp. SA
Red Eléctrica de España
Red Eléctrica de España is a Spanish corporation which operates the nation's power transmission system and electricity grid.The company was created in 1985 by the Spanish Government-owned holding company Instituto Nacional de Industria to provide a unified national power grid.The firm was also...
(Spain), Siemens AG
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
(Germany), Pan Med Trading and Investment (Jordan), Taqa Arabia (Egypt), One (Morocco), and Walid Elias Establishment (Syria).
On Nov 24, 2011, a MoU
MOU
MOU, MoU, Mou or mou may refer to:* Memorandum of understanding* Minutes of Use, in telecommunication operations* Ministry of Unification, a branch of the South Korean government.* The Museum of Osaka University...
was signed between Medgrid and Desertec Industry Initiative (Dii) to study, design and promote an interconnected electrical grid with the mega renewable energy "Desertec
Desertec
DESERTEC is a concept proposed by the DESERTEC Foundation for making use of solar energy and wind energy. This concept will be implemented in North Africa and the Middle East by the consortium Dii GmbH, formed by a group of European companies and the DESERTEC Foundation...
" project in North Africa. The medgrid together with Desertec would serve as the backbone of the European Supergrid and the benefits of investing in HVDC technology are being assessed to reach the final goal – the SuperSmart Grid (SSG)
SuperSmart Grid
The SuperSmart Grid is a hypothetical wide area electricity network connecting Europe with northern Africa, the Middle East, Turkey and the IPS/UPS system of CIS countries. The system would unify super grid and smart grid capabilities into a comprehensive network...
.