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The largest renewable energy project in history fails: only desert is left and we have lost $2 billion

April 14, 2024

The largest renewable energy project in history fails: only desert is left and we have lost $2 billion

energy
A renewable energy project that promised to change history seems to have failed. At the moment, there is only desert and an apparent loss of 2 billion dollars. Human beings are going through a period of energy transition. We need energy and several initiatives have already appeared that promise to exploit infinite and renewable energy.

However, not all the proposals that appear to try to meet human needs are successful. Sometimes they fall by the wayside due to lack of budget, impossibility of exploitation or disparity of opinions among the agents involved. The latter is the problem that has led a renewable project with great potential to be put on standby.

This renewable energy project has lost billions dollars: now there is only desert.

The dispute has been about the type of energy to be used. Morocco’s largest planned solar project has been delayed for this reason. The $2 billion, 800 MW Noor Midelt I power plant was scheduled to start operating this year, but construction has not even begun.

The delay began when the Energy Ministry and grid operator ONEE rejected CSP technology, different sources told Reuters. The state energy agency MASEN cleared the contract to make Noor Midelt I a reality in 2019. It was awarded to the consortium led by EDF Renouvelables.

It requested that the plant have photovoltaic (PV) technology, which is more affordable but has little capacity to store energy, and CSP, which is more expensive but continues to supply the grid for hours after dark.

However, since the contract was awarded, ONEE and the Ministry of Energy have communicated that they would only agree to purchase the power if MASEN switched from CSP to PV or modified the saline energy storage to batteries.

The renewable project continues to face delays for this reason.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Conflict In North Africa Threatens Gas Supply To Europe

November 8, 2021

Conflict In North Africa Threatens Gas Supply To Europe

  • A diplomatic crisis between Morocco and Algeria threatens gas supply to Spain
  • Spain considers importing more (expensive) LNG
  • Algeria faces a number of problems in expanding its gas market share in Europe

European natural gas supplies are not only waning because of lower Russian supply. Brussels, Berlin and even the Hague are keeping a keen eye on the statements made by Russian President Vladimir Putin and market reports about reduced flows through the Yamal pipeline and Ukraine. At the same time, it seems that Fort Europe is being besieged from all sides. The market is also being confronted by the negative implications of a political crisis between Morocco and Algeria, negatively impacting the latter’s gas supplies to the Iberian Peninsula.

For a few weeks a full-out political, economic and possibly security crisis has been building up between Algeria and Morocco, mainly caused by the still continuing Western Sahara-Mauritania conflict. For decades, Morocco has exerted control over the Western Sahara, fighting a military conflict with rebel movement Polisario, which is backed by Algiers. Until now, Morocco has controlled most of the Western Sahara territory, considering it to be Moroccan. And since August 2021, when Algeria severed its diplomatic relations with Morocco, the conflict has spread to gas pipeline politics too.

Algeria is facing a struggling economy, which has been hit hard by COVID-19, endemic corruption, mismanagement and internal political strive. Algeria’s leaders are also increasingly worried about Morocco’s growing political influence in the region, and even its improving relations with Israel. Internal instability, especially after the death of its former leader Bouteflika, has caused economic mayhem, and has led its oil and gas sector, the major source of income, to decline.

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Phosphate: All hopes rest on Morocco with 75% of remaining reserves

July 25, 2020

Phosphate: All hopes rest on Morocco with 75% of remaining reserves

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is phosphorous-conveyer-belt-61-miles-long.jpg

Source: The world’s longest conveyor belt system. This record setting conveyor belt system can even be seen from space. atlasobscura.com. A winding system of interlinked belts, the extra-long conveyance system transports phosphate ore from a mining operation 61 miles to the sea.

Preface. Phosphate is absolutely essential for high agricultural production, one of the “big 3” nutrients that boosts maximum crop growth (along with nitrogen and potassium).

It’s estimated that Morocco has of 75-85% of phosphate reserves that might last for 300-400 years.  But that may not be correct, as Walan (2014) points out in the paper below.  And even if true, Moroccan extraction can be disrupted by war, lack of water, energy shortages, and the difficulty of removing cadmium which is very toxic to plants.

China is the world’s largest producer of phosphate rock (48% of the world’s supply in 2013). It also uses a large amount of phosphorus to sustain its growing population. But China’s reserves of phosphorus, a key element for growing food, could be exhausted within the next 35 years if the country maintains its current production rate (Liu 2016).

Inevitably, the combination of rising cost and declining oil will force phosphate production to peak and then decline, even in Morocco (Bardi 2009).

Peak Phosphorus in the news

Jaere. 2020. ‘Peak phosphorus’ is upon us, and sewage is valuable muck. Phys.org

Mohr S.H., et al. 2013. Projections of future phosphorus production. Philica Article number 380.

***

Walan, P., et al. 2014. Phosphate rock production and depletion: Regional disaggregated modeling and global implications. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 93: 178-187. 

Excerpts:

Table 1. Main features of previous studies on phosphate rock depletion and production.
* Most countries’ reserves will be depleted in less than 100 years.
** Reserve base is included in the highest reserve estimations

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Phosphate: All hopes rest on Morocco Walan et al., 2014

March 21, 2016

Phosphate: All hopes rest on Morocco Walan et al., 2014

Walan, P., Davidsson, S., Johansson, S., Höök, M. (2014) Phosphate rock production and depletion: Regional disaggregated modeling and global implications. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 93(0): 178-187 

[ My summary of paper: If you look around for what share Morocco has of phosphate reserves, you’ll see figures of 75 to 85% that will last 300-400 years.  But it’s not a done deal as Walan et al point out.

Phosphate is absolutely essential for high agricultural production, one of the “big 3” nutrients that boosts maximum crop growth (along with nitrogen and potassium). This paper points out that just like oil, it is the flow rate – how much is actually produced per year — that matters, not how much phosphate exists.

Phosphate can be “local”. For example, China and the U.S. use most of their phosphate domestically.

Morocco is the largest exporter and also has the largest deposits. So no worries?  Hopefully not, but there are factors such as below which could lower Moroccan exports:

  • War
  • Phosphate mining is very water intensive and Morroco has little, and are mining groundwater at an unsustainable rate
  • Phosphate mining is energy intense, oil shortages would disrupt production
  • Moroccan phosphate has a cadmium, which is very toxic to plants

Inevitably, the combination of rising cost will force phosphate production to peak and then decline, even in Morocco (Bardi 2009).

Extracts from this 26 page paper are below, not in order. There’s great material on the history, location, quality, and other aspects of phosphate as well.  Alice Friedemann, www.energyskeptic.com

Table 1. Main features of previous studies on phosphate rock depletion and production. * Most countries’ reserves will be depleted in less than 100 years. ** Reserve base is included in the highest reserve estimations

Table 1. Main features of previous studies on phosphate rock depletion and production.
* Most countries’ reserves will be depleted in less than 100 years.
** Reserve base is included in the highest reserve estimations

 

 

 

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World War 3 Could Start This Month: 350,000 Soldiers In Saudi Arabia Stand Ready To Invade Syria

February 15, 2016

World War 3 Could Start This Month: 350,000 Soldiers In Saudi Arabia Stand Ready To Invade Syria

War Soldiers - Public Domain350,000 soldiers, 20,000 tanks, 2,450 warplanes and 460 military helicopters are massing in northern Saudi Arabia for a military exercise that is being called “Northern Thunder”.  According to the official announcement, forces are being contributed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Sudan, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Tunisia, Oman, Qatar, Malaysia and several other nations.  This exercise will reportedly last for 18 days, and during that time the airspace over northern Saudi Arabia will be closed to air traffic.  This will be the largest military exercise in the history of the region, and it comes amid rumors that Saudi Arabia and Turkey are preparing for a massive ground invasion of Syria.

If you were going to gather forces for an invasion, this is precisely how you would do it.  Governments never come out and publicly admit that forces are moving into position for an invasion ahead of time, so “military exercises” are a common excuse that gets used for this sort of thing.

If these exercises are actually being used as an excuse to mass forces near the northern Saudi border, then we should expect an invasion to begin within the next couple of weeks.  If it happens, we should expect to see the Saudi coalition storm through western Iraq and into Syria from the south, and it is likely that Turkey will come in from the north.

The goal would be to take out the Assad regime before Russia, Iran and Hezbollah could react.  For the past couple of years, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and their allies have been funding the Sunni insurgency in Syria, and they were counting on those insurgents to be able to take down the Assad regime by themselves.

 

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Olduvai IV: Courage
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Olduvai II: Exodus
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