27 Nov 2007 03:11:39
Wind-fuelled super-grid 'could power Europe'
Proposals for a 5,000 mile electricity super-grid, fuelled by renewable energy, could reduce Europe's carbon emissions by a quarter, according to scientists.
The scheme would stretch from Siberia to Morocco and Egypt to Iceland, the Independent reported, serving 1.1 billion people in 50 countries.
Much of the energy for the planned network would be produced by wind power, with the cost of building new turbines to be added to the existing estimated £40 billion price of developing the grid.
"We have the technical abilities to build such a super-grid within three to five years," Dr Gregor Czisch, an energy systems expert at the University of Kassel in Germany, told the newspaper.
"We just need to commit to this big long-term strategy," he added
At the same time, Business Week has reported that China spent $2 billion (£960 million) on wind power in 2006, with the Beijing government investing $10 billion (£4.8 billion) in renewable energy over the same period.
