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Morocco Connects First Unit of Giant Noor Solar Complex to Grid | Bloomberg
The first phase of Morocco’s massive solar project Noor has connected to the grid:
The first phase of North Africa’s largest solar-power complex was connected to the grid in Morocco, with a generating capacity of 160 megawatts.
The solar thermal plant in the Ouarzazate province is the first unit of the Noor project to be completed. It uses parabolic troughs to focus the sun’s energy on heating a fluid that in turn powers a generation turbine.
The plant cost 800 million euros ($894 million), according to the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy, which is known as Masen. Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power International and Spanish firms Sener SA and Acciona SA were the developers.
Noor, meaning “light” in Arabic, is expected to have a combined capacity of 2 gigawatts by 2020 after all the units are complete…[FULL STORY]