Morocco is a solar giant
It's official,
Morocco has unveiled and turned on their impressively large solar power
plant in the Sahara Desert. The plant is just the start of their plan
to provide millions of Moroccans with renewable energy.
Covering thousands of acres of desert near the town of Ouarzazate, the plant, called Noor I, is capable of generating 160 megawatts of power. Even though this is just the first stage, the plant is already one of the world's largest solar thermal power plants. According to The Guardian, once the next two phases, called Noor II and Noor III, are finished, it will be the biggest in the world.
All Images provided by Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images
NASA explained last month, "The system at Ouarzazate uses 12-meter-tall [39-foot-tall] parabolic mirrors to focus energy onto a fluid-filled pipeline," NASA's Kathryn Hansen wrote. "The pipeline's hot fluid — 393 degrees Celsius (739 degrees Fahrenheit) — is the heat source used to warm the water and make steam. The plant doesn't stop delivering energy at nighttime or when clouds obscure the sun; heat from the fluid can be stored in a tank of molten salts."
NASA also revealed that the plant is visible from space, as shown in the image below:
As NPR writes, "The ability to store the heat to make energy when the sun is not immediately shining is a major advantage of solar thermal power (also called concentrated solar power or concentrating solar power). Unlike photovoltaic systems, thermal systems don't suddenly drop in output when a cloud passes over the sun, and you don't need batteries to store some energy for nighttime use."
This is a brilliant utilization of an otherwise barren area. Hopefully the rest of the world catches up.
Covering thousands of acres of desert near the town of Ouarzazate, the plant, called Noor I, is capable of generating 160 megawatts of power. Even though this is just the first stage, the plant is already one of the world's largest solar thermal power plants. According to The Guardian, once the next two phases, called Noor II and Noor III, are finished, it will be the biggest in the world.
All Images provided by Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images
NASA explained last month, "The system at Ouarzazate uses 12-meter-tall [39-foot-tall] parabolic mirrors to focus energy onto a fluid-filled pipeline," NASA's Kathryn Hansen wrote. "The pipeline's hot fluid — 393 degrees Celsius (739 degrees Fahrenheit) — is the heat source used to warm the water and make steam. The plant doesn't stop delivering energy at nighttime or when clouds obscure the sun; heat from the fluid can be stored in a tank of molten salts."
NASA also revealed that the plant is visible from space, as shown in the image below:
As NPR writes, "The ability to store the heat to make energy when the sun is not immediately shining is a major advantage of solar thermal power (also called concentrated solar power or concentrating solar power). Unlike photovoltaic systems, thermal systems don't suddenly drop in output when a cloud passes over the sun, and you don't need batteries to store some energy for nighttime use."
This is a brilliant utilization of an otherwise barren area. Hopefully the rest of the world catches up.
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By Minds.com
