Introduction - Investing into North African Solar Power - page 2

$22,000 billion dollars is needed between 2006 and 2030, half of it within devel-
oping countries alone. 7 In the past, there have been crises related to conventional
energies, caused by non-EU states and EU states, which have affected the EU. 8
Thus, it is important for the EU to replace oil and gas completely in order to secure
its energy demand. 9 Since 50 % of Europe

s energy is imported and this might rise
to 70 % by 2030, the EU should look for alternative solutions. 10
The sun is a powerful energy source, producing around 1.6 billion terawatt hours
(TWh) per year. 11 To put this amount into perspective, one day of sunlight equals
the annual energy needs of the world ' s population. 12 This means that sunlight
surpasses the capacities of all other renewable energies. 13 Nowadays, technology
provides us with the means to make use of sunlight, such as with photovoltaics and
solar thermal power.
These facts, combined with the need to rearrange energy production, opened the
door for a new project called the Desertec Concept. In 2003, this concept started
with the aim of building solar thermal power plants in the Middle East and North
Africa (MENA) region. Due to the great amount of sunshine and the opportunities
provided by solar thermal technology, there is a chance to produce “clean” energy
for MENA countries and Europe. So far, the Desertec Concept has found a lot of
support within society and politics. Even the MENA states view it as a good
alternative to their current energy production.
Realization of the Desertec Concept entails numerous risks and problems. This
thesis mainly focuses on the issue of investment security. The purpose of this thesis
is to offer a guideline to assess the main legal problems connected to investment in a
solar thermal project. The introduction will address questions concerning possible
contracting parties and the contractual setup. The choice of the contracting parties
as well as the contractual setup is based on legal and economic evaluations. The
assessment will deal predominantly with Public Private Partnerships as a form of
cooperation, funding and risk assessment, and allocation.
This chapter will address the question of dispute resolution. To successfully
implement such a large scale project, it is necessary to work out how possible
disputes arising from the contract will be handled. There are several options for
dispute resolution, e.g. national, international courts or arbitration. This chapter will
also explain why international commercial arbitration is the best dispute resolution
tool for the Desertec project.

'

7

Lewiner ( 2010 ), 41 (42).

8

Heun-Rehn and Dratwa ( 2010 ), 101 (105-106).

9

Heun-Rehn and Dratwa ( 2010 ), 101 (116); Countries which export frequently use commodities
as tools of foreign policy, in: Pfeiffer ( 2010 ), 131 (136).
10 Pfeiffer ( 2010 ), 131 (132); cf. Stigler and Bachhiesl ( 2010 ), 183 (183).
11 Sch¨fer ( 2008 ), 11 (12).
12 Sch ¨ fer ( 2008 ), 11 (12).
13 Sch ¨ fer ( 2008 ), 11 (12).