This innovative Sahara Forest Project is advancing the most cutting-edge water, food, and power technologies for the deserts in Qatar and Jordan to try and transform dunes into farms. The idea is to integrate solar thermal technology and techniques for saltwater evaporation and freshwater condensation to efficiently produce biomass and food without affecting natural vegetation or agriculture. As the issue of desertification grows worldwide, a group of technologists aims to revegetate.
In 2011 Sahara Forest Project signed agreements with influential companies in 2011. Sahara Forest Project signed contracts with several prominent chemical companies and agricultural businesses in Qatar to launch an initial pilot program in 2012. As the project progresses, SFP has also been planning the “launch station” in Aqaba, Jordan, a 49-acre test site seven miles away from the sea to prove its feasibility with all its elements. In June 2014, the SFP signed an arrangement with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Amman in Amman, which included $1.9 million in funds for the launch site provided by the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment and The Grieg Foundation and other philanthropic sources.
What exactly is SFP developing on desert sands? The structure is built around a concentrator cooled by saltwater and Photovoltaic solar panels. The mirrors of the solar plant power an evaporative desalination process to produce distillate water, which can be used to irrigate plants in greenhouses and nearby outdoor plants. The waste heat warms greenhouses during winter and regenerates the desiccant for dehumidifying the air.
The greenhouses offer the ideal conditions for producing valuable crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and eggplants, with yields comparable to commercial European operations. The leftover seawater at around 15 percent salinity is evaporated through hedges, which provide sheltered, humid areas for the growth of biomass, fodder, energy production, and a range of salt-loving desert plants. Salt can also be a sellable product, and a location can accommodate algae ponds to cultivate the types of algae extracted and used for biofuel production.
The Sahara Forest Project has run figures on the potential for a 10,000-acre project in North Africa. Solar power plants could provide enough power to satisfy the project’s demands while exporting 324 gigawatt-hours annually. It would be home to a greenhouse area of 740 acres that consumes the equivalent of 20,000 cubic meters of freshwater each year produced through desalinization and enough water to have the equivalent of 190,000 tons of melons and tomatoes.
Around the greenhouses would be more than 5,000 acres of outside crop and vegetation, most of which would be free-range revegetation of the desert. In total, the farm would produce 30,000 tonnes of fodder. The farm will produce 7,500 tons of biofuel-ready algae oils. The closed-loop system could employ as many as 20,000 people and will also be able to absorb carbon in a manner of 50,000 to 50,000 tonnes annually.
Although the Sahara Forest Project may not get results similar to those for a long time, the testing site is showing that concept right now, and it’s worth keeping an eye on the project to find out if the technology and the economics work in the end.