Morocco is racing toward a renewable energy in overall electricity generation target of 42% by 2020 and 52% by 2030. As part of efforts, Morocco has earmarked 2.3 billion dollars to boost the use of solar energy in agricultural production.
This investment is meant to bolster the use of solar energy in water pumping and to curb the consumption of Butane gas, said Energy Minister, Aziz Rabbah. “The solar water pumping will be generated on an agricultural area of 100,000 hectares in a first phase.”
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The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) recently increased its target to set up 4 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2020 up to 10 gigawatts by 2030.
The Noor-Ouarzazate solar power complex, which will become the world’s largest when completed in 2018, will provide electricity for 1.1 million people.
The Noor-Ouarzazate complex consists of three concentrated solar power (CSP) plants and one PV plant. It includes 160 MW Noor 1 CSP parabolic trough plant, which was started in August 2013 and officially commissioned in February 2016, and 200MW Noor 2 CSP parabolic trough plant and 150MW Noor 3 CSP tower plant, which are currently under development, and expected to be completed by the year of 2018.
The project is being developed on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis by ACWA Power Ouarzazate, a consortium of ACWA Power, the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN), Aries and TSK. A consortium led by NOMAC, a subsidiary of ACWA Power, and MASEN will operate and maintain the solar complex.
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