Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The Sahara Solar Breeder (SSB)
Project Contributes to Global
Sustainable Energy Production
and Resource Conservation:
An Overview
A. Boudghene Stambouli and H. Koinuma
1
Introduction
and transport the water we need, and we use
water to help us produce the energy we need.
According to the estimation done by the
International Energy Agency (IEA), a 53 %
increase in global energy consumption is foreseen
by 2030; energy security is becoming a serious
issue as fossil fuels are non-renewable energies
(RE) and will deplete eventually in the near future.
In addition, the world's oil resources will peak
within a few decades to come (80 years at the most
as depicted in Fig.
1
) (ExxonMobil
2012
), and in
the search for other sustainable alternatives to miti-
gate some political, economic and environmental
issues currently associated with the heavy reliance
on fossil fuel, it is inevitable that the world is head-
ing towards RE and new energy economy to reach
sustainability (Fig.
2
) by promoting clean energy
technologies, pursuing energy effi ciency and
developing RE forms which are three orders of
magnitude larger than current global energy use
(Boudghene Stambouli et al.
2012
). Moreover, cli-
mate changes, manifested in various forms,
threaten the fragile balance of our ecosystem and
require us to implement policies and strategies
adapted to sustainable development. For this rea-
son, all countries should seek technologies from all
disciplines applicable in RE and energy effi ciency
(EE). Indeed, considering them together, by
improving access to clean and green modern
energy, offers substantial economic and environ-
mental benefi ts for the world as well as a unique
opportunity for technological advancement in the
energy fi elds. The idea of valorisation of energy
As we approach 2050 (ten billion persons on
Earth), physical and environmental constraints in
our use of energy resources are beginning to
manifest themselves. Energy resources, increas-
ingly scarce, are integral parts of the heritage of
humanity. They require us to implement policies
and strategies adapted to sustainable develop-
ment because of the following reasons:
Energy security, economic growth and envi-
ronmental protection are the national energy
policy drivers of any country of the world.
Energy is central to achieving the interrelated
economic, social and environmental aims of
sustainable human development.
Water is a fundamental part of our lives. It is a
free and renewable natural resource. Human
survival is dependent on water which has been
ranked by experts as second only to oxygen as
essential for life.
Energy and water resources are intricately con-
nected; we use energy to help us treat, clean
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