The sights and smells of Morocco are on full display in the country’s most charismatic city, Marrakech.
Wafts of mint and spices wind through the narrow alleyways lined with trinkets and crafts. They are just some of the familiar delights we associate with Morocco, but we were in the country to see so much more.
Morocco has an ambitious goal. It wants to be a global Solar superpower.
And, why not? The sun beats down on the sweeping Sahara for almost 3000 hours every year. An arid landscape that covers 30% of Africa with an unobstructed, free, natural resource in abundance is there to be harnessed.
Tourists flock to Morocco for the sights of Marrakech. But outside the city, the government has built a colossal Solar power station
To help us understand the Solar situation better, we drove south-east from Marrakech to Ouarzazate, travelling along the Atlas Mountain’s vertiginous roads. They took us through ancient cities and remote villages, all bathed in beautiful sunlight.
Ouarzazate itself is a small town, but with big business on its doorstep. It is home to some of the world’s largest movie studios and the location for many a Hollywood blockbuster. Lawrence of Arabia, Game of Thrones and Babel are just some of the titles that have been filmed there.
On the outskirts of this town is Noor, a colossal Solar power station. Noor means light in Arabic.
I was not prepared for the scale of this project. To see it is to believe it. It felt like I’d stepped into Tomorrow’s World. Row upon row of huge Solar panels spread across the desert, all capturing the sun’s rays. The Solar technology at Noor covers 3000 hectares.
Noor is the largest Solar power complex of it’s kind in the world. The whole plant can provide enough energy for 2 million people
It is the largest Solar power complex of it’s kind in the world. The whole plant can provide enough energy for 2 million people around the globe. The …….
Source: https://www.itv.com/news/2021-10-26/could-morocco-become-a-world-leader-in-solar-power
