When the full complex is complete, it will be the
largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant
in the world , and the first phase, called Noor 1, will go live next
month. The mirror technology it uses is less widespread and more
expensive than the photovoltaic panels that are now familiar on roofs
the world over, but it will have the advantage of being able to continue
producing power even after the sun goes down.The potential for solar power from the desert has been known for
decades. In the days after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 the
German particle physicist Gerhard Knies, calculated that the world’s
deserts receive enough energy in a few hours to
provide for humanity’s power needs for a whole year. The challenge though, has been capturing that energy and transporting it to the population centres where it is required.
The Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, a group of earthen buildings surrounded by high walls, is the set of numerous movies. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian As engineers put the finishing touches to Noor 1, its 500,000
crescent-shaped solar mirrors glitter across the desert skyline. The 800
rows
follow the sun as it tracks across the heavens, whirring quietly every few minutes as their shadows slip further east. When they are finished, the four plants at Ouarzazate will occupy a space as big as Morocco’s capital city, Rabat,
and generate 580MW of electricity, enough to power a million homes. Noor 1 itself has a generating capacity of 160MW. Morocco’s environment minister, Hakima el-Haite, believes that solar
energy could have the same impact on the region this century that oil
production had in the last. But the $9bn (£6bn) project to make her
country’s deserts boom was triggered by more immediate concerns, she
said. “We are not an oil producer. We import 94% of our energy as fossil
fuels from abroad and that has big consequences for our state budget,”
el-Haite told the Guardian. “We also used to subsidise fossil fuels
which have a heavy cost, so when we heard about the potential of solar
energy, we thought; why not?” Solar energy will make up a third of Morocco’s renewable energy supply by 2020, with wind and hydro taking the same share each. “We are very proud of this project,” el-Haite said. “I think it is the most important solar plant in the world.” Each parabolic mirror is 12 metres high
and
focussed on a steel pipeline carrying a ‘heat transfer solution’ (HTF)
that is warmed to 393C as it snakes along the trough before coiling into
a heat engine. There, it is mixed with water to create steam that turns
energy-generating turbines. The HTF is made up of a synthetic thermal oil solution that is pumped towards a heat tank containing
molten sands that can store heat energy for three hours, allowing the plant to power homes into the night.
The mirrors are spaced in tier formations, to minimise damage from sand blown up by desert winds.
 |
| The 12 metre-high parabolic mirrors. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian |
Technicians say that the Noor 2 and 3 plants, due to open in 2017
will store energy for up to eight hours – opening the prospect of 24/7
solar energy in the Sahara, and the surrounding region. “The biggest challenge we faced was being able to finish the project
on time with the performance [level] we needed to achieve,” said Rashid
al-Bayad, the project director. But even as the first phase of the project nears completion, Morocco
is eyeing grander international ambitions. “We are already involved in
high tension transportation lines to cover the full south of
Morocco
and Mauritania as a first step,” says Ahmed Baroudi, manager of Société
d’Investissements Energétiques, the national renewable energy
investment firm. But he says the project’s ultimate impact will go far
wider – even as far as the Middle East. “The [ultimate] objective given
by his majesty the king is Mecca.” Whether that ambition is achieved remains to be seen but exporting
solar energy could have stabilising effects within and between
countries, according to the Moroccan solar energy agency (Masen). Talks
are ongoing with Tunisia, and energy exports northwards across the
Mediterranean remain a key goal, despite
the collapse in 2013 of the Desertec project, a German plan to source 15% of Europe’s energy from North African desert solar by 2050.
Renewable energy and the politics of subsidies Letters: How are we ever to wean ourselves off fossil fuels when government policy is so skewed in their favour? Read more “We believe that it’s possible to export energy to Europe but first
we would have to build the interconnectors which don’t yet exist,” said
Maha el-Kadiri, a Masen spokeswoman. “Specifically, we would have to
build interconnections, which would not go through the existing one in
Spain, and then start exporting.” Spain has itself prohibited new solar projects because of a lack of
interconnectors to transmit the energy to France. The EU has
set a target of ensuring that 10% of each member country’s power can be transported abroad by cable by 2020. In the meantime, Morocco is focused on using solar to meet its own
needs for resource independence. This could one day include water
desalination
, in a country that is increasingly being
hit by drought as the climate warms. Officials are keenly aware of the
running they are making in what is the most advanced renewable energy
programme in the Middle East and North African region. “We are at the avante-garde of solar,” el-Kadiri says. About $9bn has been invested in the Noor complex, much of it from
international institutions such as the European Investment Bank and
World Bank and backed by Moroccan government guarantees. Undisclosed
energy subsidies from Morocco’s unelected ruler, King Mohammed VI, have
prevented the cost from being transferred to energy consumers. 60 second climate fix: Can the sun cool down the Earth? One month before launch, over a thousand mostly Moroccan workers are
still racing to fix electric wires, take down scaffolding and wrap
rockwool insulation around steel pipelines. They bustle past in yellow
and orange bibs, working 12-hour shifts against a backdrop of the Atlas
mountains. Harnesses with hammers and gloves strapped to their belts
swing by their sides. Ubiquitous hard hats, safety shoes and ear plugs
give the scene an air of theatrical camp. For Hajar Lakhael, a 25-year-old environment and security manager
from Meknes, rehearsals are almost over and the blockbuster production
is nearly ready for action. “We’ve done the construction and now we will see how these projects
look when they start,” she says. “It is exactly like the preparation for
a grand performance.” A global audience will be watching with interest. Source:
The Guardian
