Moroccan Solar Plan
Morocco
has launched one of the world’s largest and most ambitious solar energy
plan with investment of USD 9billion. The Moroccan Solar Plan is
regarded as a milestone on the country’s path towards a secure and
sustainable energy supply. The aim of the plan is to generate 2,000
megawatts (or 2 gigawatts) of solar power by the year 2020 by building
mega-scale solar power projects at five location — Laayoune (Sahara),
Boujdour (Western Sahara), Tarfaya (south of Agadir), Ain Beni Mathar
(center) and Ouarzazate — with modern solar thermal, photovoltaic and
concentrated solar power mechanisms.
The
first plant, under the Moroccan Solar Plan, will be commissioned in
2014, and the entire project is expected to be complete in 2019. Once
completed, the solar project is expected to provide almost one-fifth of
Morocco’s annual electricity generation. Morocco, the
only African country to have a power cable link to Europe, is also a key
player in Mediterranean Solar Plan and Desertec Industrial Initiative.
The Desertec Concept aims to build CSP plants to supply renewable energy
from MENA region to European countries by using high-voltage direct
current (HVDC) transmission lines.
In
2010, the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN), a public-private
venture, was set up specifically to implement these projects. Its
mandate is to implement the overall project and to coordinate and to
supervise other activities related to this initiative. Stakeholders of
the Agency include the Hassan II Fund For Economic & Social
Development, Energetic Investment Company and the Office National de
l’Electricité (ONE). The Solar Plan is backed by Germany, with funding
being provided by German Environment Ministry (BMU) and KfW
Entwicklungsbank while GIZ is engaged in skills and capacity-building
for industry.
Ain Beni Mather Project
The
Ain Beni Mather Integrated Solar Thermal Combined Cycle Power Station
is one of the most promising solar power projects in Africa. The plant
combines solar power and thermal power, and is expected to reach
production capacity of 250MW by the end of 2012. African Development
Bank, in partnership with the Global Environment Facility and Morocco's
National Electric Authority (ONE), is financing approximately two-thirds
of the cost of the plant, or about 200 million Euros.
Ain
Beni Mather plant, which is now supplying electricity to the Moroccan
grid, uses a cutting-edge design, combining a large array of 224
parabolic mirror collectors concentrating sun energy and boosting the
steam output needed to produce electricity. This area enjoys abundant
sunshine and has enough water to cool the power station and clean the
solar mirrors. It is close to both the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline and
the high voltage grid that will help to transmit the generated power.
Ouarzazate Solar Complex
The
500MW Phase-One Solar Power Complex at Ouarzazate is the world’s
largest solar thermal power plant. To be built with investment of an
estimated Euros 2.3 billion, the project is the first one to be
implemented under the Moroccan Solar Plan. The Ouarzazate Solar Complex,
with a total capacity of 500 MW, will come on-stream in 2015 and
produce an estimated output of 1.2 TWh/year to meet local demand. The
first phase will be a 160-MW parabolic trough facility while
photovoltaic modules and CSP towers will be used in later phases.
Solar Energy in Jordan
The
solar energy potential in Jordan is enormous as it lies within the
solar belt of the world with average solar radiation ranging between 5
and 7 KWh/m2,
which implies a potential of at least 1000GWh per year annually. Solar
energy, like other forms of renewable energy, remains underutilized in
Jordan. Decentralized photovoltaic units in rural and remote villages
are currently used for lighting, water pumping and other social services
(1000KW of peak capacity). In addition, about 15% of all households
are equipped with solar water heating systems.
Jordan
has major plans for increasing the use of solar energy. As per the
Energy Master Plan, 30 percent of all households are expected to be
equipped with solar water heating system by the year 2020. The
Government is hoping to construct the first Concentrated Solar Power
(CSP) demonstration project in the short to medium term and is
considering Aqaba and the south-eastern region for this purpose. It is
also planning to have solar desalination plant. According to the
national strategy the planned installed capacity will amount to 300MW –
600MW (CSP, PV and hybrid power plants) by 2020.
One
of the most promising potential investments in renewable energy
worldwide will be installing more than 250 MW of concentrated solar
power (CSP) in Jordan’s Ma’an development zone through different
projects developed by the private sector. The upcoming CSP solar power
plants in Ma'an would highlight Jordan's strategy of sustainable energy
diversification. The Ma'an Development Area enjoys about 320 days of
sunshine a year, with a high level of irradiance that allows over 2500
million kWh of primary energy to be harvested annually from each square
kilometre. At full capacity, the planned flagship CSP plant could meet
some 4% of the Kingdom's electricity needs, reducing the reliance on
electricity imports from neighbouring countries. Surplus energy could in
turn be sold to Syria, Egypt and Palestine, whose networks are
connected to Jordan.
Qawar
Energy in partnership with Maan Development Area (MDA) has recently
announced the launch of its $400 million Shams Ma’an Project, a 100MW
photovoltaic (PV) power plant project to come up at the MDA industrial
park in Jordan. The project, being undertaken in partnership with MDA,
is spread across a two million m2 area, and expected to
be ready in 2012. On completion, it will be the largest PV plant in the
world that will position Jordan on the global renewable energy map
attracting investments, technologies and knowhow. It aims to utilize
approximately 360,000 to 2 million PV/CPV panels and produce around 168
GWh per year
California-based
company Ausra has been chosen to supply solar steam boilers to the
100MW JOAN1 concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) project in
development in Ma’an. The JOAN1 project is expected to enter operation
in 2013 and will be the largest CSP project in the world using direct
solar steam generation. JOAN1 will be based on Ausra’s reflector
technology to power the plant’s solar steam cycle and generate up to 100
MW of electricity. JOAN1 will use dry cooling to conserve water. Ausra
plans to install an advanced manufacturing facility in Jordan in order
to supply JOAN1 with its solar steam boilers.
