Morocco’s new solar plant at Ouarzazate, known as Noor 1, will cover an area even larger than the country’s capital city of Rabat when it is completed.
Featuring 500,000 crescent-shaped solar mirrors that follow the sun during the day to capture sunlight, the plant is expected to provide half of the country’s energy needs by 2020.
Noor 1, in addition to Noor 2 and 3 which are due open by 2017, will generate an astounding 580MW of power combined.
Noor 1’s mirrors will be 12m high and are designed to heat up a steel pipeline carrying a “synthetic thermal oil solution.”
This solution can be heated to 393 degrees centigrade and mixed with water to create steam and turn turbines to make electricity.
All in all, Noor 1, 2, and 3 will produce enough power for 1 million homes.
