Desertec has recast its message, and is promoting the integration of European and MENA grids at a time when the Crimea crisis has pushed energy security to the top of the EU agenda.

Dii, the organization behind Desertec made up of largely of European companies with a stake in renewable energy, has long been associated with the concept of creating vast solar arrays in the North African desert to supply EU grids. Since the founding of Dii in 2009, this idea has become increasingly discredited, with much of the criticism pointing to the need for energy diversification within the North African countries themselves. (CONTINUED - 1035 WORDS)