A small square superimposed on a map of Africa sums up the seductive appeal of an ambitious plan to cut Europe’s carbon emissions.

The square represents an area the size of Northern Ireland, but scientists claim that it could one day generate enough solar energy to supply all of Europe with clean electricity.

The European Commission’s Institute for Energy has calculated that it would require only 0.3% of the Saharan and Middle Eastern deserts to be covered in “solar farms” to meet Europe’s energy needs.

“There is no doubt that there is huge potential for solar energy in North Africa,” said Ferran Tarradel-las, spokesman for energy for the European Commission. “There is as much sun as you could wish for and land is very cheap.

“The commission has now removed legal barriers so that North Africa can export solar power to us, but if we want to build solar farms deep inside the Sahara, we will need to lay better transmission cables to Europe.”

The scientists are calling for electricity generation on an epic scale using a combination of photovoltaic cells and concentrating solar power (CSP), which involves focusing heat onto a boiler, which drives turbines.

A new super-grid would transmit the electricity around Europe along high-voltage direct cables. The grid proposal recently won support from both Gordon Brown and French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

“It’s such a simple idea and its potential is vast,” says Dr Gerry Wolff, who promotes the concept through the British lobby group TREC-UK. “We’re delighted the concept is beginning to attract high-lev-el political support.”

The price tag for the Saharan vision could be hefty. Scientists envisage an investment of £360 billion could produce 100gigawatt by 2050, more electricity than the UK generates in total.

But a report from the German Aer-ospace Centre calculated that CSP electricity imported from the Sahara could become one of the cheapest sources of electricity in Europe.

Portugal and Spain have already invested in the technology and Alge-ria has begun work on a vast combined solar and natural gas plant that, when completed in 2020, could export 6,000 megawatts of power to Europe.

The British solar power industry is beginning to catch up. Charmaine Coutinho, 26, is a product marketing analyst at Solar Century, a solar energy company based in London. She left Cambridge University with a degree in geography after working unpaid internships during holidays at corporate social responsibility consultancies. Unsuccessful in finding work in this sector, she joined a public relations agency working with software companies and computer magazines, then moved to research at a transport and urban planning consultancy, where she spent two enjoyable years before joining a financial services consultancy.

“Working in the City, we dealt with very high-profile clients. It was intense. They drop you in at the deep end and you learn the way FTSE 100 companies work, and different strategies. But it wasn’t for me – too cutthroat and long hours. The benefits, money and champagne on Friday afternoons don’t compensate for giving up your life. Solar Century couldn’t be more different. I took a pay cut of about 25% to join - everybody does - but people buy into the mission here. Everyone works with such a passion.”

Take-up of solar power in the UK has been slow compared with Europe. The total number of installations is 1,920, which represents just 0.6% of the number working in Germany.

Solar Century’s photovoltaic roof tile, the C21e, is being installed by volume builders such as Barratt, Fairview, St James and Croudace. Installation for a family home takes about a day.

The company’s latest development is a photovoltaic slate which matches roofing materials used on older homes.

The company is also involved in two big projects in Europe. On its warehouse in San AgustÍn de Guadal-ix, Spain, the Spanish retailer Eroski has installed a high-performance photovoltaic roof of 180 panels, which will produce 49,000kWh of carbon dioxide-free electricity a year, enough to power 13 Spanish homes. In Italy, Solar Century is equipping 20 schools in the Milan region with solar power.

Coutinho works with Solar Century’s new product development team, picking up on new ideas, assessing the competition and researching development costs, potential selling prices and how to sell the product. She enjoys the autonomy and input she can give at work and the open and collaborative approach: “Your voice is taken seriously here. Everyone’s opinion counts.” She envisages spending five or six years with Solar Century and is excited about their expansion into Europe. “One thing I like about here is that there isn’t a career ladder. It’s much more about taking on responsibility and creating your own path.

“Doing geography at university, I always had half an ear on the way people interact with the environment and now I feel I’m contributing positively. Everything I do is helping change peoples’ attitudes. We aren’t asking anyone to sacrifice quality of life but to think twice about how they live. It’s not just about you, but the rest of the world as well.”

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