* 80 pct of power would be used domestically, rest exported
* Desertec seeking suitable land for solar units and grids
* Initiative wants to increase members from 12 to 50
By Maha El Dahan
CAIRO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Desertec, steering a 400 billion euro ($600 billion) plan to power Europe with sunlight from North Africa and the Middle East, is working hard to win over sceptics in developed and developing nations who doubt the benefits.
"European countries are ready to pay a higher price for clean energy and producing countries will be helped by this income to produce even more renewable energy," Hany El Nokraschy, vice chairman of the supervisory board of the Desertec Foundation said.
The world's most ambitious solar power project, backed by 12 mostly German finance and industrial firms, could supply 15 percent of Europe's power needs by 2050.
Around 80 percent of power generated by the project will be consumed domestically and 20 percent will be for export to Europe, Nokraschy said, adding that Desertec will conduct studies over the next three years to locate suitable land for solar units and electricity grids.
The key is to bring the number of Desertec's member companies up to 30 or more with wider involvement from non-European firms. Algeria's Cevital is currently the only member from North Africa.
"This has to be with cooperation from all the countries so we want to increase our members to 30 or even 50," Nokraschy said.
Such cooperation might be difficult to muster with sceptics raising concerns from both within Europe and the Middle East.
While openly welcomed by Morocco, which has said it wants to be among the leading countries in the project, Algerian energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil has said he would not welcome foreign companies exploiting his country's solar energy.
Still, Nokraschy said fears of exploitation were unfounded with technology transfer an integral part of the project.
"What Algeria wants is not to just take anything that is ready to go, they want to develop their own technology, and this is one of the aims of Desertec as it wants developing nations to grow their industry and eventually produce the equipment that is needed," he said.
Desertec hopes to garner interest from other countries in the region as well, including Egypt and Tunisia.
POLITICAL CONCERNS
Some European analysts fear political instability in the region increases the risk of the project. Threats by Al Qaeda-aligned militants in Algeria to attack European interests underline the risk of installing vital infrastructure in countries suffering from widespread poverty and social tension.
"Europeans might be affected by some negative publicity from the region and fear they could get cut off from their source of electricity, but that is unfounded," Nokraschy said.
The alternative to Desertec is for Europe to continue setting up smaller-scale photovoltaic cell installations (PV) that generate most of the continent's solar energy today.
But Nokraschy argues that PV systems cannot achieve what the concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, which will be used by Desertec, can deliver.
CSP technology uses mirrors instead of solar cells to harness the sun's rays to produce steam and drive turbines to produce electricity.
The Desertec project would involve a series of units across the North African desert utilising CSP technology to produce electricity delivered to Europe through direct-current cables beneath the Mediterranean.
PV systems and wind farms are not as reliable as CSP technology in powering large industrial communities, Nokraschy said.
"You can't make large industries work with such sources alone. You need a balancing power from the south."
Nokraschy has not yet started negotiations with North African governments but is optimistic about the outcome. His most compelling argument, printed on his business cards, is that the world's deserts receive more energy from the sun within six hours than humankind consumes within a year.
"Desertec is not a project, it is an idea to make use of all the energy that is in the deserts around us in the world in an environmentally safe manner." (Reporting by Maha El Dahan, editing by Anthony Barker) ((maha.dahan@reuters.com; Cairo newsroom +20 2 2578 3290/1)) ($1=.6635 Euro)