At the end of last week, we launched the first unit of a giant solar power plant in Morocco. The 160-megawatt station called Noor I is the first of three blocks located in the province of Ouarzazate.
The ability to produce our own energy needs to change the face of North African countries. Unlike most of its neighbours, Morocco has no fossil fuel reserves, and therefore 97% of the energy has to be imported from other countries. After the completion of the solar power plant will produce over 500 megawatts of power, providing electricity to more than a million people.
Is Noor I concentrated solar power plant type (CSP). Such plants operate on a different principle than photovoltaic. CSP use a variety of mirrors, focusing solar energy on a large pot with water, thus warming the water and turning it into steam. Steam then passes through turbines generating electricity by rotating them. Noor I, located on an area of about three square kilometers, will be able also to store the energy equivalent of three hours of work, using a molten salt.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has officially announced the beginning of construction of the following two blocks of a solar power plant which will be completed by 2020. After four years, Morocco expects to receive more than half of the required energy from renewable sources.