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Solar power in Morocco is enabled by the country having one of the highest rates of solar insolation among other countries— about 3,000 hours per year of sunshine but up to 3,600 hours in the desert.
Eurosunmed - Agency for European - Moroccan Cooperation on Solar Energy
{{Economy of Morocco
Solar power in Morocco is enabled by the country having one of the highest rates of solar insolation among other countries— about 3,000 hours per year of sunshine but up to 3,600 hours in the desert. Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
has launched one of the world’s largest solar energy projects costing an estimated $9 billion. The aim of the project is to create 2,000 megawatts of solar generation capacity by the year 2020. Five solar power stations are to be constructed, including both photovoltaic and concentrated solar power technology. The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN), a public-private venture, has been established to lead the project. The first plant will be commissioned in 2015, and the entire project in 2020. Once completed, the solar project will provide 38% of Morocco’s annual electricity generation.
Morocco is the only Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n country to have a power cable link to Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
(1,400 or 2,100 MW). The cable sent 5756 GWh from Spain to Morocco in 2017, and very little the opposite way. Morocco aims to benefit from the €400bn ($573.8bn) expected to come from the ambitious pan-continental Desertec Industrial Initiative.
Ouarzazate solar plant
The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy invited expressions of interest in the design, construction, operation, maintenance and financing of the first of the five planned solar power stations, the 500 MW complex in the southern town ofOuarzazate
Ouarzazate (; ar, ورزازات, Warzāzāt, ; ary, وارزازات, Wārzāzāt; shi, label=Berber, ⵡⴰⵔⵣⴰⵣⴰⵜ, Warzazat), nicknamed ''the door of the desert'', is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Dr ...
, that includes both PV and CSP.
Construction officially began on 10 May 2013.
The project is divided in 3 phases: a 160MW concentrated solar power project, a 200MW parabolic mirror
A parabolic (or paraboloid or paraboloidal) reflector (or dish or mirror) is a Mirror, reflective surface used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is part of a circular paraboloid, that is, the surface ge ...
plant, and a 150MW solar trough plant.
The 160 MW first phase, ''Noor I'', was brought online in February 2016.
The project was awarded to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power
ACWA Power is a developer, investor, co-owner and operator of a portfolio of power generation and desalinated water production plants currently with presence in 10 countries including in the Middle East and North Africa, Southern Africa and Sout ...
, which sells the electricity produced for $0.19/kW·h, and co-financed by the World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
and the European Investment Bank.
The second phase, the 200 MW ''Noor 2'' plant, came online in January 2018, and the third phase is expected to come online by the end of 2018.
These two phases provide another 580 MW and cover 6,000 acres.
Largest solar power plants
Morocco Renewable Energy solar projects to be installed between now and 2030Planned
See also
* Energy policy of Morocco *Renewable energy in Morocco
As of 2019, renewable energy in Morocco covered 35% of the country’s electricity needs.
Morocco has a target of sourcing more than half of its electrical energy from renewable sources by 2030 and a plan to have 2,000 MW of wind and 2,000 MW of ...
*Wind power in Morocco
In terms of wind power development, Morocco enjoys quite favourable wind resource patterns, both in the northern part of the country near Tanger and to the west where certain regions benefit from regular trade winds.
In 2013, 5,05% of electricity ...
*Renewable energy by country
This is a list of renewable energy topics by country and territory. These links can be used to compare developments in renewable energy in different countries and territories and to help and encourage new writers to participate in writing about ...
References
External links
Eurosunmed - Agency for European - Moroccan Cooperation on Solar Energy
{{Economy of Morocco