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/ 28 September 2008
From household solar panels to thermal generators, sun power has enjoyed explosive growth around the world. Everywhere, that is, except in Africa.
China is the world’s leading producer of energy from renewable sources and is on the way to overtaking developed countries.
Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy back plan for solar panels in the North African desert, writes Alok Jha.
A tiny rectangle in the Sahara captures the seductive appeal of the audacious plan to cut Europe’s carbon emissions by harnessing the sun’s power.
Bulky solar panels may be a thing of the past. Spurred by advances in technology, panel makers are scrambling to come up with neater designs.
Soaring oil prices have led to such a boom for solar power that the industry could operate without subsidies in just a few years’ time, according to i