Desertec: Electricity From the Desert Unites Europe With the Arab World

Participants From Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt Attend the First Annual Conference of the Industry Initiative Dii

BARCELONA, October 26, 2010 - Clean electricity from deserts will soon be making a growing contribution
to supplying the people of North Africa and the Middle East with power. And
electricity from solar and wind plants in the desert will also find its way
to Europe within the space of the next decade. In doing so, it will help all
27 EU states achieve their ambitious renewable energy goals by the year 2020.
"Based on a foundation of mutual respect, partnership and cooperation, a new
age of sustainable energy supply can begin that is to the benefit of all. We
now want to show how the Desertec vision of electricity for North Africa, the
Middle East and Europe from renewable energy sources can be turned into very
real activities and projects through this collaboration," said Dii CEO Paul
van Son today at the first annual Dii conference in Barcelona.

Around 300 participants from the Arab nations and Europe are using this
conference today and tomorrow to take stock of the progress being made on the
topic of electricity from the desert. The presence of government and
corporate representatives from potential electricity-generating countries
such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt bears witness to the great
interest that North Africa has in renewable energies. Opened by EU
Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger, the conference will address all
the important aspects of the Desertec vision:

    - Generating energy in deserts: At which locations in desert regions can
      energy be generated using sun and wind, with which technology and at
      what cost? These are the key questions in the field of power
      generation that international experts from the commercial and
      research sectors are discussing. On the basis of geo-scientific
      analysis, the possible locations have to be found and the best suited
      technologies identified, such as solar thermal and photovoltaic, and
      the expected generation costs calculated. The ways of reducing energy
      production costs are also an important consideration here.

    - Transporting electricity to local and distant consumption centres:
      There are also many technical and economic aspects that have to be
      clarified when it comes to how to transport the electricity from the
      generation locations to the places where consumers need it. Existing
      electricity grids have to be examined as to their suitability for the
      future, bottlenecks have to be identified and the best possible
      transmission technologies selected. Within the scope of its work, Dii
      will also submit scenarios for the structure of the electricity grids
      by 2012, and the related investment propositions. In doing so, the
      close collaboration between Dii und MEDGRID/Transgreen will be of
      particular importance. This international industrial consortium is to
      be founded in Paris in November and develop an integrated master plan
      in the framework of the Mediterranean Solar Plan for a high-performance
      electricity grid in the Mediterranean. Using this grid, the plan is
      then to be able to transport up to five gigawatts from Africa to
      Europe.

    - The development of the energy markets: In the focus of the market
      analysis is the question of how the gap between the costs of
      electricity from the desert and the income that can be expected from
      it can be bridged over time. The analysis of the market potential is
      as important here as is the issue of who comes into question as a
      future buyer of the electricity. In order to make desert electricity
      marketable in the medium term, stimulation mechanisms have to be
      investigated and compared. In particular, a standardised pan-European
      feed-in tariff for North African solar and wind energy would be an
      important tool here. The earnings that can be achieved in Europe - for
      solar energy, for example - could also be used as financing levers for
      more investments in North Africa.

    - Economic and social development potential for the MENA region: A
      crucial success factor for the realisation of the Desertec vision will
      also be the analysis and ascertainment of the benefit that the
      potential producers of the energy from the desert will gain. To this
      end, the macro-economic effects of the expected investments have to be
      identified. The value created locally by Desertec has to become
      visible - for example, through the development of industries, the
      creation of jobs and the transfer of know-how.

    - Political-regulatory environment: The political-regulatory environment
      is another key factor for the realisation of the Desertec vision. The
      EU directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable
      sources provides the legal foundation for the integration of
      electricity from the desert. This directive makes it possible to
      import renewable electricity from non-EU states as long as it is then
      consumed within the EU. "The EU directive for the promotion of
      renewable energies is an important regulatory lever for decisively
      advancing the vision of electricity from the desert," says Paul van
      Son, CEO of the industry initiative Dii.

About Dii (www.dii-eumena.com):

Dii is an international initiative established in July 2009 with the name
"Desertec Industrial Initiative". On 30 October 2009, Dii GmbH was founded
under German law.

Shareholders of Dii:

ABB | Abengoa Solar | Cevital | DESERTEC Foundation | Deutsche Bank |
Enel Green Power | E.ON Flagsol | HSH Nordbank | Munich Re | M+W Group |
NAREVA Holding | Red Eléctrica de España | RWE Saint-Gobain Solar | SCHOTT
Solar | Siemens | TERNA (Italy)

Associated Partners of Dii:

3M | AGC | Audi | BASF | BearingPoint | Bilfinger Berger | Bosch Rexroth
| Commerzbank | Concentrix Solar Conergy | Deloitte | Evonik Industries | FCC
Energía | First Solar | FLABEG | Fraunhofer Gesellschaft | GL GARRAD HASSAN |
HSBC | IBM | ILF Consulting Engineers | Italgen | KAEFER | Lahmeyer
International Maurisolaire | Max-Planck-Gesellschaft | Morgan Stanley | NUR
ENERGIE | OMV | Schoeller Renewables SMA Solar Technology | TERNA ENERGY
(Griechenland) | TÜV SÜD

    Contact:
    Alexander Mohanty
    Dii GmbH
    E-mail: mohanty@dii-eumena.com
    Phone: +49-89-340-7705-20 / Mobile: +49-151-40-20-24-12
    www.dii-eumena.com

Alexander Mohanty, Dii GmbH, E-mail: mohanty at dii-eumena.com, Phone: +49-89-340-7705-20 / Mobile: +49-151-40-20-24-12