Energy officials are honing their sites on the sahara desert, not necessarily for its beauty but for its energy potentials. In an area slightly smaller than Whales, an enormous solar panel grid could capture enough intense sun rays of the region to keep light bulbs glowing emissions-free throughout all of Europe.

The supergrid would cost roughly £35 billion, and if joined with the UK and Denmark's wind energy supply, as well Iceland's geothermal power, the entire continent could benefit from clean, green energy. Arnulf Jaeger-Walden of the European commission's Institute for Energy says the capture of just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle East deserts could make this seemingly unbelievable reality come true.

The grid proposal, in conjunction with plans to build more wind farms and generate more geothermal power, is winning much political support. The Guardian reports the following:

The grid proposal... answers the perennial criticism that renewable power will never be economic because the weather is not sufficiently predictable. Its supporters argue that even if the wind is not blowing hard enough in the North Sea, it will be blowing somewhere else in Europe, or the sun will be shining on a solar farm somewhere.

Scientists argue that harnessing the Sahara would be particularly effective because the sunlight in this area is more intense: solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in northern Africa could generate up to three times the electricity compared with similar panels in northern Europe.

Currently the plans remains largely in the realm of conjecture, but the idea of all of Europe getting it's power from one primary, sustainable source certainly sounds exciting. Time will tell if enough enthusiasm turns the proposal into firm legislative action.