An international consortium devoted to creating an ambitious solar-power project in the Sahara Desert took the first formal steps of its plan Friday by forming a closely held company and appointing a chief executive.

The creation of the company, dubbed DII GmbH, by an industrial consortium called Desertec Industrial Initiative, is a first step in its plans to cover 16,900 square kilometers of desert with solar thermal power stations - which use the sun to generate heat which is then used to generate electricity. The aim is to provide as much as 15% of Europe's electricity by 2050, as well supplying the growing energy needs in North Africa and the Middle East.

The company also appointed Paul van Son, an executive with around 30 years of experience in management of the European energy industry, as its CEO. He has been managing director of Deutsche Essent GmbH, a German unit of Dutch Essent NV, which has recently been bought by RWE AG, and Dutch Econcern NV. Both companies are developers of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. Van Son is also chairman of the European Federation of Energy Traders and chairman of the Energy4All Foundation, which is active in Africa.