Oslo — Yara International ASA, Qafco and The Sahara Forest Project AS (SFP)have signed a cooperation agreement to build a pilot plant in the desert of Qatar, aiming to produce food, fresh water, clean energy and biomass using proven green technologies. The SFP is about creating re-vegetation and green jobs through profitable production of food, water, clean energy and biomass in desert areas by combining proven environmental technologies, using seawater, greenhouses, solar energy and a supply of CO2 and fertilizer. The estimated cost for the pilot plant is US$5.3 million and Qafco and Yara will provide the funding. The parties have already started preparations, and are on schedule to reach the target of having a fully operational pilot plant by December 2012. The project is designed to fit in an approximately 10,000 m2 area inside the Qafco 5 site in Qatar. It will integrate a combination of innovative technologies, such as solar thermal technologies with processes for saltwater evaporation, condensation of fresh water and production of food and biomass. The foundation of the pilot is greenhouses utilizing seawater to provide cool and humid growing conditions for vegetables. They will also produce freshwater themselves. The project will employ concentrated solar power, using mirrors to concentrate the energy from the sun and create very high temperatures. It will produce superheated steam that can power a conventional steam turbine, generating electricity. The pilot will also allow for cultivation of algae in a system of photo-bioreactors and open pond cultivation systems. One of the goals is also to demonstrate the potential for cultivating desert land and making it green.
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