why are we called 'Sahara' Solar?
Here at Sahara Solar we wanted a name that not only connects to solar, but also to something real and unique. What better than the Sahara Desert! With its increased sun exposure, fascinating phenomenons and unique biodiversity.
The Sahara Desert receives a lot of sunlight! Making it a very unique place. With parts of the east side of the Sahara receiving over 4,000 hours of bright sunshine per year (over 91% of daylight hours), which is ideal for generating solar powered energy! That's an annual average direct solar irradiation of around 2,800 kWh/(m2 year).
The Sahara Desert is located in the continent of Africa. It is the largest hot desert in the entire world. It measures at roughly 9,200,000 square km, that's even bigger than Australia!
The Sahara Desert is one of the hottest and driest places on earth, with average high temperatures of over 40 °C during summer. However, ground temperatures are even more intense. During the day, the temperature of the sand is extremely high, easily reaching 80 °C.
Every 41,000 years the Sahara switches from a desert to a Savannah and then back again, caused by the North African Climate Cycle. We have just 15,000 years to go until the Sahara will switch back into a Savannah again, a green Sahara Savannah.
The Sahara consists of a lot of sand, with dunes reaching heights of almost 600 feet.
Despite the Sahara's hostile environment, its home to a diverse range of animals, including; camels, cheetahs, fennec foxes, the red-necked ostrich, african wild dogs, gazelles, addax antelopes, the dung beetle, desert crocodiles and a vast array of scorpions and snakes.
The highest point in the Sahara Desert is Emi Koussi, which is a volcano, located in Chad. It has a height of 3,445 m. The population of the Sahara desert is only 2.5 million, despite its vast size.