The Desertec Industrial Initiative is powered by a dozen German companies from the engineering, energy and finance sectors but have also won support from firms in Algeria and Spain and from officials in Egypt and Jordan. German deputy environment minister Matthias Machnig said solar systems had “enormous potential.” The massive project would cover 6,000 square kilometers, including 2,500 for power plants and 3,500 for the distribution grid.

The solar project is set to be completed by 2050, and would install solar power generators across North Africa and the Middle East and share the electricity between host nations and their private partners. The process, called solar thermal electrical generation, uses reflected sun rays to heat fluid-filled tubes, creating steam that drives a generator. The plan also includes water desalinization plants for the involved countries.