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Ramping up the alternative energy momentum
There is one puzzle though (and it’s not just the weird headline which implies the country is forgoing solar energy). The article claims that Morocco spent $6 billion in 2008 on oil products for energy, and this solar array will reduce the need by 42% when completed in 2020.
My question is this. If the payback on the deal is a mere 4 years, why on earth not go for the whole deal and aim for total self-sufficiency in the one project? Or am I missing something? And wasn’t there a map recently that showed the whole world could be served with electricity from one giant solar array in a desert somewhere in North Africa? (oh yeah here it is).
As per AFP, the project will be located in five locations, to be completed by 2020 and all of them will cover 10,000 hectares. One plant will be located right at Ouarzazate and will have a capacity of 500 MW and the other four will have a capacity of 100 to 500 MW. After being done, this project will lead to annual savings of one million tons of oil equivalent of 500 million dollars and CO2 emissions of Morocco will be reduced by 3.7 million tons annually….