The Moroccan city of Ouarzazate will see a giant thermal energy solar plant opened next month as a part of the nation’s pledge to reach 42 per cent renewable energy capacity by 2020. Sunlight will power the enormous solar plant by melting salt to power a steam turbine throughout high electricity usage hours in the late afternoon and early evening.
The project will initially produce enough energy to power the city for 3 hours at night, with an eventual goal of providing 20 hours of consistent energy every day. Morocco has received international praise for its ambitious efforts in renewable energy development, with the UN expressing its support for Morocco’s leadership in the area.
With a GDP of around US $107, Morocco’s 42 per cent target is impressive not just in relation to its economic situation but when compared to some of the world’s most wealthy nations. The UK, for example, is aiming for a 30 per cent increase in renewable energy capacity by the same date.
Additionally many developing nations are outshining wealthy superpowers in their renewable targets, with Morocco joining the ranks of a number of South East Asian nations in developing solar thermal power plants to grow their nation’s renewable sector.
Solar plant to be one of the biggest in the world
The solar thermal project has been commissioned to a Saudi-owned company AWCA Power, and is said to be one of the biggest in the world on completion, covering the same land mass as the nation’s capital, Rabat.
“Whether you are an engineer or not, any passer-by is simply stunned by it” said Paddy Padmanathan of AWCA Power.
The installation will take up the equivalent size of 35 soccer fields and is comprised of large parabolic mirrors that will move throughout the day with the direction of the sun. Representatives from the project have predicted that the power generated from the solar plant will be able to provide energy to around one million Moroccan people in the surrounding region.
Morocco’s landscape provides an ideal environment for solar thermal technology, with masses of flat and unused land and a hot climate guaranteeing high levels of sunlight. The solar plant creates a visual spectacle on the flat dry landscape as it contrasts the snow-capped Atlas mountains in the distance.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has expressed that this project is just one of many future initiatives to make Morocco a renewable energy leader both in Africa and globally. In the past Morocco has been reliant on fossil fuels for 98 per cent of its energy needs. The Moroccan government has been motivated to decrease this percentage through the development of alternative energy sources.
Moroccan environment minister, Hakima el Haite, explained that Morocco has great potential for the development renewable energy including harnessing wind from the Atlantic Ocean, hydro power from the mountains and sunlight from the desert. Morocco has a clear environmental advantage in moving towards renewable energy, as el Haite explained “we are convinced that climate change is an opportunity for our country”.
In the lead up to the Paris climate talks, Morocco has further promised to decrease its carbon emissions by 32 per cent by 2030 on the condition that aid is provided for their renewable energy sector.
The renewable energy boom emerging in Morocco is predicted to flip the country’s energy supply chain entirely. The developing nation currently imports energy from Spain, but on completion of their renewable energy targeted schemes Morocco is expected to produce energy far in excess of their own needs – opening up a potential export market with European and surrounding African nations.
The Solar Storage Revolution
Morocco is entering the solar market at a clever point in the game in terms of technological development. With the price of solar technology falling rapidly as the first draw card and the much anticipated release of solar storage technology just around the corner.
Author and futurist Ray Kurzweil says that solar power usage has been growing at a rate of two-fold every year for the past three decades. Kurzweil further suggested that according to current rates of renewable energy growth, we can expect renewable capacity to exceed worldwide energy needs within 20 years.
Photo courtesy of World Bank Photo Collection{.owner-name.truncate}
