From Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper
Casablanca – Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Group is putting the finishing touches on the second and fourth stations of the giant Noor Ouarzazate Solar Power Complex before they are officially run in the coming days.
When these two plants become officially operational, ACWA Power will have completed 74 percent of what will be the world’s largest solar park.
As part of the celebrations of the completion of the two new stations, a visit to the Noor Ouarzazate site will be organized for the participants of the Regional Solar Forum in North Africa and the Middle East … in Marrakech from June 25 to 28 with the participation of figures from the Arab region, Europe, United States and Asia.
The Ouarzazate complex is set to develop into a 500MW solar park that incorporates several utility-scale solar power plants using various solar technologies.
Phase one of the project involved the construction of a 160MW concentrated solar power (CSP) plant named Noor I in 2015, while phase two involves the construction of the 200MW Noor II CSP plant and the 150MW Noor III CSP plant. Phase three will involve the construction of the Noor IV CSP plant. Phase one construction works started in August 2013 and Noor I was officially commissioned in February 2016.
The project is being developed on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis by ACWA Power Ouarzazate, a consortium of ACWA Power, the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen), Aries and TSK. Morocco has launched a series of large projects in different parts of the country, which rely on the exploitation of solar and wind energy in the production of electricity.
From ProTenders
Ouarzazate Solar Power Station (OSPS), also called Noor Power Station is a solar power complex located in the Draa-Tafilalet region in Morocco, 10-kilometres from Ouarzazate town, in Ghessat rural council area. The entire solar project is planned to produce 580-megawatt (MW) at peak when finished and is being built in three phases and in four parts.
Noor 2 CSP is being built as the second part of the Ouarzazate Solar Power Station. It will be a 200-megawatt (MW) CSP solar project using parabolic trough and with 7 hours energy storage. It covers an area of 680 hectares (1,680 acres) and is expected to supply 600 GWh per year. It will use a dry cooling system to decrease water use. The Noor II power station will have a thermal storage capacity of 2,800 MWh corresponding to 5 hours of production when operating at full capacity. The Noor II plant will have a molten salt storage capacity of 7 hours and will be equipped with 400 loops, with each loop comprising of four connected solar collector assembly (SCA) modules, which will further incorporate 12 solar collector element (SCE) modules. The CO2 emissions avoided are estimated 521,670 tonnes per annum.
The plant configuration for the solar field will have following specifications:
- Heat-Transfer Fluid Type: Thermal oil
- Solar-Field Inlet Temp: 293°C
- Solar-Field Outlet Temp:393°C
The plant configuration for power block will have following specifications:
- Turbine Capacity (Gross): 200.0 MW
- Turbine Capacity (Net): 200.0 MW
- Output Type: Steam Rankine
