Image Credit: YoTuT/Flickr
Morocco has plans to construct a 2,000-MW solar power plant and has begun the initial work on the first 500-MW of the project, reports Reuters. The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) will award the initial contract to a consortia set on building 160 megawatts of the first phase this summer, with construction slated to begin by the fourth quarter of the year. The 500-MW phase of the Moroccan Solar Plan in the region of Ouarzazate is scheduled to be completed by 2015, the first part of building up to the planned 2,000-MW of clean energy generation by 2020.
The first solar installation will be generated via concentrated-solar technology (CSP) with additional construction on other solar technologies to follow, including a 50-megawatt photovoltaic module and several more CSP towers. In total it will include five power stations costing an estimated $9 billion (USD) by the time it is complete. In a statement, Masen chair Mustafa Bakkoury said “costs are high but we think they will be declining going forward … Developing solar power is an irreversible choice for us.”
In addition to the solar power plant investments, Morocco is also adding wind power to their energy generation portfolio. It hopes that the plan can help cover the cost of a rapidly growing demand for electricity in the country as well reduce CO2 emissions by 9 million tons and oil imports by 2.5 million tons. Any surplus could be sold to Spain, which could further help offset the cost of the initial investment as well.