Out of Africa Solar Energy from The Sahara Reading Answers

Jan 12, 2023

Out of Africa Solar Energy from The Sahara Reading Answers contains sample answers about Sahara and how much energy it holds. Out of Africa Solar Energy from The Sahara Reading Answers has 13 different questions. IELTS Out of Africa Solar Energy from The Sahara Reading Answers contains three types of questions: identify the paragraph, match statements with organisation, and complete the summary. Candidates are required to read the IELTS Reading passage to answer which paragraph contains the stated information, Candidates are required to match the given statement with the anime of the organisation it belongs to. For the last set of questions, candidates are supposed to complete the summary of the passage using no more than two words from the passage for each answer. Candidates can gain proficiency on diverse topics by undertaking IELTS Reading practice papers.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Out of Africa Solar Energy from The Sahara Reading Answers

For years, the Sahara has been regarded by many Europeans as a terra incognita* of little economic value or importance. But this idea may soon change completely. Politicians and scientists on both sides of the Mediterranean are beginning to focus on the Sahara’s potential to provide power for Europe in the future. They believe the desert’s true value comes from the fact that it is dry and empty. Some areas of the Sahara reach 45 degrees centigrade on many afternoons. It is, in other words, a gigantic natural storehouse of solar energy.

A few years ago, scientists began to calculate just how much energy the Sahara holds. They were astonished at the answer. In theory, a 90,600 square kilometre chunk of the Sahara - smaller than Portugal and a little over 1% of its total area - could yield the same amount of electricity as all the world’s power plants combined. A smaller square of 15,500 square kilometres - about the size of Connecticut - could provide electricity for Europe’s 500 million people. 'I admit I was sceptical until 1 did the calculations myself,’ says Michael Pawlyn, director of Exploration Architecture, one of three British environmental companies comprising the Sahara Forest Project, which is testing solar plants in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Pawlyn calls the Sahara’s potential ’staggering’.

At the moment, no one is proposing the creation of a solar power station the size of a small country. But a relatively well-developed technology exists, which proponents say could turn the Sahara’s heat and sunlight into a major source of electricity - Concentrating Solar Power [CSP], Unlike solar panels, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, CSP utilises mirrors which focus light on water pipes or boilers to produce very hot steam to operate the turbines of generators. Small CSP plants have produced power in California’s Mojave Desert since the 1980s. The Sahara Forest Project proposes building CSP plants in areas below sea level (the Sahara has several such depressions) so that sea water can flow into them. This water would then be purified and used for powering turbines and washing dust off the mirrors. Waste water would then supply irrigation to areas around the stations, creating lush oases - hence the ’forest’ in the group’s name.

But producing Significant quantities of electricity means building huge arrays of mirrors and pipes across hundreds of miles of remote desert, which is expensive. Gerry Wolff, an engineer who heads DESERTEC, an international consortium of solar-power scientists, says they have estimated it will cost about $59 billion to begin transmitting power from the Sahara by 2020.

Building plants is just part of the challenge. One of the drawbacks to CSP technology is that it works at maximum efficiency only in sunny, hot climates - and deserts tend to be distant from population centres. To supply Europe with 20% of its electricity needs, more than 19,300 kilometres of cables would need to be laid under the Mediterranean, says Gunnar Asplund, head of HVDC research at ABB Power Technologies in Ludvika, Sweden. Indeed, to use renewable sources of power, including solar, wind and tidal, Europe will need to build completely new electrical grids. That’s because existing infrastructures, built largely for the coal- fired plants that supply 80% of Europe’s power, would not be suitable for carrying the amount of electricity generated by the Sahara. Germany’s government-run Aerospace Centre, which researches energy, estimates that replacing those lines could raise the cost of building solar plants in the Sahara and sending significant amounts of power to Europe to about $485 billion over the next 40 years. Generous government subsidies will be needed. ‘Of course it costs a lot of money,’ says Asplund. ‘It’s a lot cheaper to burn coal than to make solar power in the Sahara.’

Meanwhile, some companies are getting started. Seville engineering company Abengoa is building one solar- thermal plant in Algeria and another in Morocco, while a third is being built in Egypt by a Spanish-Japanese joint venture. The next step will be to get cables in place. Although the European Parliament has passed a law that aids investors who help the continent reach its goal of getting 20% of itg power from renewable energy by 2020, it could take years to create the necessary infrastructure.

Nicholas Dunlop, secretary-general of the London-based NGO e-Parliament, thinks companies should begin transmitting small amounts of solar power as soon as the North African plants begin operating, by linking a few cable lines under the Med. 'I call it the Lego method,’ he says. ‘Build it piece by piece.’ If It can be shown that power from the Sahara can be produced profitably, he says, companies and governments will soon jump in. If they do, perhaps airplane passengers flying across the Sahara will one day count the mirrors and patches of green instead of staring at sand.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-5

The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-G.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

..................... a mention of systems which could not be used

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence: coal- fired plants that supply 80% of Europe’s power, would not be suitable for carrying the amount of electricity generated by the Sahara.
Keyword : coal fired, Europe’s power, electricity, Sahara
Keyword Location: paragraph E, line 8
Explanation: As per paragraph E, the Sahara's electricity production would be too much for the existing infrastructures to handle. They were primarily constructed for the coal-fired power stations that generate 80% of Europe's electricity. This demonstrates that using renewable energy sources is not possible in the Sahara. This is because there is insufficient infrastructure, as what is already in place is only fit for coal-fired power plants. The answer is therefore E.

..................... estimates of the quantity of power the Sahara could produce

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: In theory, a 90,600 square kilometre chunk of the Sahara - smaller than Portugal and a little over 1% of its total area
Keyword : Sahara, 90600, Portugal, chunk
Keyword Location: paragraph B, line 2-3
Explanation: The Sahara could theoretically produce as much electricity as all of the world's power plants put together, according to paragraph B. It occupies just over 1% of the total territory and is smaller than Portugal. The answer is B because these lines provide us with estimations of the potential energy output of the Sahara.

..................... a suggestion for how to convince organisations about the Sahara’s potential

Answer: G
Supporting Sentence: If It can be shown that power from the Sahara can be produced profitably, he says, companies and governments will soon jump in.
Keyword : power, Sahara, profitable, companies, governments
Keyword Location: paragraph B, line 4-5
Explanation: As per paragraph B, businesses and governments will quickly get involved if it can be demonstrated that power from the Sahara can be produced profitably. This highlights Nicholas Dunlop's suggestion to convince organisations of the Sahara's potential by connecting North African plants to it. So, G must be the answer.

..................... a short description of the Sahara at present

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: The desert's true value comes from the fact that it is dry and empty. Some areas of the Sahara reach 45 degrees centigrade on many afternoons.
Keyword : true value, fact, Sahara
Keyword Location: paragraph A, last few lines
Explanation: According to paragraph A, some parts of the Sahara see afternoon highs of 45 degrees Celsius. In other terms, it is a massive natural solar energy reservoir. Or to put it another way, the first paragraph gives a brief overview of the Sahara as it stands right now. The solution is therefore A.

..................... a comparison of the costs of two different energy sources

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence: replacing those lines could raise the cost of building solar plants in the Sahara and sending significant amounts of power to Europe
Keyword : building, solar plants, Sahar, amounts
Keyword Location: paragraph E, line 10
Explanation: As per paragraph E, replacing those lines is estimated to increase the cost of developing solar power facilities in the Sahara. And during the following 40 years, we will transmit nearly $485 billion worth of power to Europe. These words make it crystal obvious that the topic of this paragraph is a cost comparison of two alternative energy sources. Thus, the answer is E.

Questions 6-9

Look at the following statements (Questions 6-9) and the list of organisations below.

Match each statement with the correct organisation, A-G.

List of Organisations

Exploration Architecture

DESERTEC

ABB Power Technologies

Aerospace Centre

Abengoa

The European Parliament

e-Parliament

..................... They have set a time for achieving an objective.

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence: European Parliament has passed a law that aids investors who help the continent reach its goal of getting 20% of its power from renewable energy by 2020
Keyword : law, continent, investors, power
Keyword Location: paragraph F, line 4
Explanation: In paragraph F, it is said that a law passed by the European Parliament will reward investors. It will help the continent meet its 2020 target of obtaining 20% of its energy from renewable sources. Since it is
obvious that the European Parliament has set a deadline for attaining the goal of obtaining 20% of the power from renewable sources. The answer is therefore F.

..................... They believe that successful small-scale projects will demonstrate that larger projects are possible.

Answer: G
Supporting Sentence: companies should begin transmitting small amounts of solar power as soon as the North African plants begin operating,
Keyword : companies, transmitting, solar power
Keyword Location: paragraph G, line 2
Explanation: Companies should start transferring small amounts of solar energy, according to paragraph G, as soon as the North African plants start up. The answer is G due to evidence that e-Parliament thinks that successful small-scale projects will show that larger ones are feasible.

..................... They have a number of renewable energy projects under construction.

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence: Seville engineering company Abengoa is building one solar- thermal plant in Algeria and another in Morocco
Keyword : engineering, solar thermal, Abengoa
Keyword Location: paragraph F, line 1-2
Explanation: As per paragraph F, the engineering firm Abengoa of Seville is constructing solar thermal plants in Algeria and Morocco. While a Spanish-Japanese joint venture is constructing a third in Egypt. The answer is E because it is obvious that Abengoa is working on a variety of renewable energy projects.

..................... They are already experimenting with solar- energy installations in other parts of the world.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: one of three British environmental companies comprising the Sahara Forest Project, which is testing solar plants in Oman and the United Arab Emirates
Keyword : British companies, Sahara, Oman, UAE
Keyword Location: paragraph B, last few lines
Explanation: One of the three British environmental firms that make up the Sahara Forest Project is mentioned in paragraph B. In Oman and the United Arab Emirates, it is putting solar power plants to the test. This text leads us to believe that Exploration Architecture is already trying with solar energy systems in countries like Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The answer is therefore A.

Questions 10-13

Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)

Unlike solar panels, CSP concentrates the sun's rays on boilers by using 10......................

The resulting heat produces high-temperature 11....................., which in turn moves the

turbines which generate electricity.

CSP plants will be situated in 12..................... to allow sea water to run in.

This, when purified, can be used to wash the equipment.

The resulting dirty water will be used for 13..................... around the power plant, and in

this way oases will be formed.

Question 10:

Answer: Mirrors
Supporting Sentence: Unlike solar panels, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, CSP utilises mirrors which focus light on water pipes
Keyword : solar panels, sunlight, electricity, CSP
Keyword Location: paragraph C, line 4
Explanation: According to the offered line, CSP uses mirrors as opposed to solar panels, which turn sunlight directly into electricity. The answer is mirrors since it is evident from the previous sentence that mirrors are used by CSP to focus sunlight on the boilers.

Question 11:

Answer: steam
Supporting Sentence: focus light on water pipes or boilers to produce very hot steam to operate the turbines of generators.
Keyword : light, water pipes, hot steam, turbines
Keyword Location: paragraph C, line 5
Explanation: As stated in paragraph C CSP uses mirrors to direct light onto water pipes or boilers, creating incredibly hot steam that powers generator turbines. This claim makes the observation that the turbines are propelled by the heat generated by the hot steam. The answer is steam, therefore.

Question 12:

Answer: depressions
Supporting Sentence: The Sahara Forest Project proposes building CSP plants in areas below sea level (the Sahara has several such depressions)
Keyword : Sahara, CSP plants, sea level
Keyword Location: paragraph C, line 7
Explanation: It is stated in paragraph C that the Sahara Forest Project suggests constructing CSP facilities in locations below sea level. There are several such depressions in the Sahara. so that seawater can enter them. We can infer from this that CSP plants will be positioned in depressions or regions below sea level to let sea water seep in. Depressions are the adequate answer.

Question 13:

Answer: irrigation
Supporting Sentence: Waste water would then supply irrigation to areas around the stations, creating lush oases
Keyword : waste water, supply, stations
Keyword Location: paragraph C, last line
Explanation: According to paragraph C, irrigating the lands near the stations with waste water will result in lush oases. Thus, the word "forest" appears in the group's name. The usage of the generated dirty water for irrigation near the power station can be inferred from this citation. An oasis will develop in this manner. So irrigation is the answer.

Read More IELTS Reading Samples