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Situated even deeper in the desert than Morocco and prone to locust swarms , Mauritania’s topography consists of the “ mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara ” – as the CIA puts it. But they’ve got sun and they’ve got wind and now they’ve got Africa’s largest solar photovoltaic plant. One PV plant = 10% of the country’s capacity. MORE
Morocco’s Solar Energy Agency has announced that the Saudi-led consortium ACWA has won the bid to build a 160MW concentrated solar power plant in Ourzazate. Teaming up with Spanish firms Aries IS and TSKEE, the Saudi International Company for Water and Power will be responsible for the design, finance, construction, operation and maintenance of the plant. Cleantech, Science & Technology ACWA clean tech Ourzazate renewable energy solar power MORE
A huge hydro-wind hybrid power station will double Morocco’s entire installed hydropower capacity – and be a world’s first. The African Development Bank (ADB) has made an offer to invest $329 million of its own money in the groundbreaking hybrid wind and hydro-electric power plant. Although seldom built in tandem as one project like this, hydro power is often used to provide storage for wind power. MORE
Now the fourth Desertec project, by far the largest-ever solar plant in the world – for 2,000 MW of solar power – is to be built in Tunisia. worldwide at 354 MW, and over four times larger than the biggest power plant of any type in Tunisia, a 471 MW gas power plant. Solar thermal uses steam-driven turbines like coal or gas plants. Wow, the Desertec vision is barreling into realization! MORE
IDE has already constructed more than 400 desalination plants in 40 countries, including at least 3 in Israel – the world’s largest reverse osmosis plants. The idea is to power the plants using wasted heat from other sources. The desalinated water will be used both by the power plant to generate electricity as well as for drinking by residents of Tianjin, a city of more than 12 million people. MORE
Pilot Andre Borschberg was forced to fly the Solar Impulse back to Rabat when turbulence made it impossible to cross the Atlas Mountains in southern Morocco on June 14, 2012. Despite its long wing span, the world’s first sun-powered plane capable of flying day and night weighs the same as a family car, which prohibits it from entering areas that experience high winds and other climatic extremes. More on the Solar Impulse Journey: Morocco to Welcome Solar Impulse Pilots. MORE
Today, Desertec and Medgrid signed an agreement to strengthen co-operation on building renewable energy from the deserts and the huge grid to move the power. Desertec, which a mere few years ago was just an impractical vision of a chain of power plants in the North African sun to power 15% of Europe. In a marriage made in renewable energy heaven, the two most ambitious energy plans in the world have joined forces. MORE
We have listed 6 big and small solar-powered projects in the MENA region that have inspired us in the hopes that it will do the same for you. Big or small, solar-powered projects in the Middle East and North Africa are transforming our region. The Desertec initiative to establish renewable energy generating plants in North African countries astride the Mediterranean Sea is easily one of the most ambitious and exciting programs in the MENA region. Bedouin Solar Power Activate! MORE
The companies Acciona and TSK will be meeting in Dubai to discuss the challenges and opportunities of constructing the Noor I CSP plant in Morocco. Join in on their panel discussion on Morocco’s CSP industry and the lessons learnt on site in Ouarzazate. The 160MW Noor I CSP project in Morocco has been under construction for almost a year and is expected to reach commercial operation in the second half of 2015. Energy Morocco Solar Energy MORE
Some notable new investments made in the MENA region include a new solar thermal power plant in Saudi Arabia. In countries such as Egypt, where fuel subsidies are rooted in the financial structure of the country’s budget, the high oil prices encourages the development of renewable energy power. Rising fuel costs and increasing demand in solar power reduces the need of governmental incentives to support the growth of renewable energy. MORE
Saudi Arabia gives Morocco a sunny boost, but Joseph looks at Morocco’s bigger renewable energy picture: an aim to use 42% renewables by 2020. According to solarserver.com, Aries Ingeniería y Sistemas and TSK EE will join ACWA for the design, finance, construction, operation and maintenance of the plant, at an estimated development cost of USD 1 billion. The companies plan to begin work on the plant by the end of 2012 and complete the plant near the end of 2014. MORE
They will present the case studies of the Shams 1, a 100MW plant in Abu Dhabi and the Noor 1, a 160MW (being constructed in Morocco). In Saudi Arabia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, where the most potential for CSP is evident, there are regulations and requirements that need to be fulfilled. With a power output of 100MW, Shams 1 solar field extends to over 600,000 m2 and it has over 250,000 mirrors. MORE
Morocco’s ambitious Desertec solar energy project received a setback after Spain failed to show for the official signing of the agreement that aims to transform North Africa’s energy market. The first Desertec project between the EU and Morocco is now under threat as Spain had been an instrumental partner in the project. Morocco imports 97 percent of its energy needs, currently dominated by coal. Image of solar power plant in Spain , Shutterstock. MORE
Its Cerro del Águila Hydroelectric Power Plant will be located in the province of Tayacaja. Peru’s Energy and Mines Ministry, Pedro Sanchez said in a press release that the project is one of three hydroelectric plants it was seeking tenders for building and operating, that will require a combined investment of $1.7 About half of the power produced by all three proposed hydro projects will go to the mining industry in Peru, which accounts for 59% of all its exports. MORE
Algeria’s state-owned Sonelgaz has just signed the third deal in the MENA region to export desert solar power to Europe, with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate with the European Desertec Initiative (DII) in the export of solar from the country, according to a report at Platts. Algeria’s Sonelgaz is already a pioneer in solar/gas hybrid power in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. MORE
Morocco has activated the Noor I concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, the first part of a three-phase development in the Sahara Desert intended to supply more than a million homes with electricity by 2018. The 500,000 crescent-shaped solar mirrors of Noor I, which sits on thousands of acres of desert terrain near Ouarzazate, will generate up to 160 MW of power. MORE
Aside from the extraordinary progress being made by Desertec in Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria to develop solar resources that could benefit from these dust-resistant solar panels, Abu Dhabi is by far leading the race to secure a renewable future, consistently putting the United States to shame. :: Smart Planet. More on Masdar City and Solar Power: Abu Dhabi Prince Shames White House by Crowning Roof With Solar Panels. MORE
Morocco recently announced that it has pre-selected several solar power producers to build two additional concentrated solar power plants (CSP) in Ourzazate. Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power , which is currently building a 160MW CSP plant in the same area, is among the firms picked to bid. Acwa’s 160MW plant will generate energy at a cost of just $0.19 MORE
Following best practices for open science the team has also made all of the data from the project publicly-available here including all of the information on power plant locations, mortality rates, emissions factors and transport data. Traffic congestion damages from gasoline in Morocco? Lucas Davis at the Energy Institute at Haas blog (emphasis added): Last month Meredith wrote about coal being too cheap and Max wrote about gasoline being too cheap. MORE
This wood waste may not like fuel for a solar power plant, but it soon could be. The EU is funding the pilot Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in Egypt with 11,755,049 Euros, through the EU Seventh Framework Programme. The solar energy is to come from a concentrating solar power technology using molten salts as the heat transfer fluid, the same way that Masdar’s Gemasolar plant in Spain works, in the first 24-hour solar power plant in the world. MORE
Why does Israel so lag Arab neighbors like Morocco and Egypt in its renewable energy production? I do not understand how the nation that invented CSP solar thermal – the solar energy that now powers much of the worlds gigantic utility-scale solar plants – can be just now announcing some tiny 35 MW solar project as its “largest ever!” It’s first and currently only large-scale solar plant is a 5 MW facility on a kibbutz in the Negev. MORE
ACWA rumored to win the contract to build a 160 MW CSP project in in the south of Morocco. “We are going to opt for the offer made by the consortium of ACWA,” a source close to Morocco’s solar energy agency MASEN told Reuters. ACWA Power International is the Saudi-based developer, owner and operator of utility-scale water and power projects. Masdar Awards $600 Million Contract for ‘World’s Largest’ Thermal Plant. MORE
Africa’s largest wind farm to date is slated to begin construction as soon as a long-delayed financing agreement is completed, according to Wind Power Monthly. The plant, which will be financed by Attijariwafa Bank, Banque Marocaine du Commerce Extérieur (BMCE) and France’s Banque Populaire, will be built astride the Atlantic ocean in southern Morocco. It is said to be the largest such plant on the African continent. MORE
Desertec’s first link in the chain will be a 500 MW solar power project that will begin construction in Morocco at an estimated cost of $US 2.8 Desertec signed an agreement to strengthen co-operation with MedGrid, the other most ambitious renewable energy consortiums in the region that has as many as 20 Mediterranean countries studying how to export 5 GW of power to Europe which involves numerous technical, economic and institutional challenges. MORE
The free EneR event is a networking and investment platform for those interested in Morocco’s renewable energy markets happening later this month in Casablanca. Morocco is wild, yet for the average business or tourist traveler tame and safe. You won’t find Clarke Gable in Morocco, but business investors interested in new financing opportunities might be advised to head to the EneR event in Casablanca later this month , November 22 to 26. MORE
Morocco and Egypt have the biggest wind power plants, but don’t discount Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Wind power has taken a backseat to solar power across the Middle East and North Africa, but there are still some ambitious projects in wind power being undertaken across the region. Two of the largest wind farms in the world are in the region, in Morocco and Egypt. Morocco’s Tarfaya Wind Farm. MORE
Large solar array plants, like those being installed by companies like BrightSource even ran into problems in the USA when a large project they were involved in was put on hold in California in 2009 when a planned 5,130 acre solar farm in the Mojave Desert ran into protest from environmentalists and Native American groups. Everything is now on track SolarPower rooftop rural power grid. MORE
The new unit, Energy Solutions, will invest in wind, solar, thermal and hydro power, according to a report at The National. Just some of the projects that Energy Solutions is considering include several wind farm tenders in Morocco - a nation with huge potential to produce not just its own power from renewables but to power Europe as well, It plans to jump off with a flying start with investment starting this year. MORE
But the study looked well beyond the UAE to regions in Morocco, Egypt, and even the Palestinian Authority. Dammed river in Morocco, for hydropower, before and after. The images from the Jiyeh Power Plant bombing in 2006 and its resultant oil spill in Lebanon and the oil fires in Kuwait as a result of the 1990 invasion by Iraqi forces, vividly show the environmental impacts of conflict. MORE
To put 41 GW in perspective, China is the world’s leader in wind power now, overtaking Germany and the U.S. This is a very serious move by a country well able to afford this kind of investment, that till recently has lagged the rest of the MENA region in renewables trailing Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates. “Really they want to maximise their exports of oil, but really what they’re using a lot of their oil for power generation in the country. MORE
Saudi production will be based on large-scale ground-mounted arrays and CSP plants. Abu Dhabi is moving forward with Shams-1 , the world’s largest single-unit (100MW) concentrating solar power plant. GW of PV capacity by 2014 and Dubai aims to source 5% of its power supply from solar by 2030. Jordan and Morocco also have solar ambitions. Business & Politics Energy concentrated solar power Desertec feed-in-tariffs Masdar photovoltaics Shams solar powe MORE
The economic woes in Europe due to Greek debt may result in Greece supplying huge amounts of cheap solar power for Europe, by way of paying back its debts, but in the process creating rivalry with Desertec, the visionary plan to supply 15% of Europe’s energy from the deserts of the MENA region. The first power plant to supply the project, a half GW solar power plant in Morocco, is beginning next year. MORE
The failed 2009 Waxman Markey climate legislation in the US would have begun only with stationary sources emitting over 25,000 tons of CO2 annually – essentially covering only coal power plants to start with.). But all industrial sectors except electric power production would also be able to claim additional relief of at least another 10%. ZenithSolar Makes Solar Power Affordable. Climate Energy carbon tax clean technology coal Durban solar power South Africa MORE
A quick call to the Spanish authorities reveals that the government is dealing with the Eurozone crisis and does not have extra funds to be part of the initial phase of Morocco’s Desertec solar project, which aims to deliver renewable energy to Europe. The first Desertec project between the EU and Morocco is consequently under threat as Spain had been an instrumental partner in the project. MORE
took a field trip to Egypt’s first solar-thermal plant 90km south of Cairo! The buses were headed for Kuraymat, Egypt’s very first solar-thermal plant located 90km south of Cairo, and Green Prophet was on the scene. Step in for exclusive photographs of this 150 MW Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) power plant , which has been feeding energy into the grid since July, 2011. . Renewable Energy professionals from Europe and Egypt (and Green Prophet!) MORE
Instead of merely being just another solar CSP company, GlassPoint is now the very first solar company in the world that will make solar power in a greenhouse. Initially he focused on the industrial applications of the heat production rather than electric power. They are not subject to hot and dusty desert winds, they don’t have to be built strong – and thus heavy – costing more power to move. MORE
When Spain ditched DESERTEC’s solar interests in Morocco , the blogosphere was quick to pronounce the initiative Dead Before Arrival. Morocco found its own way to proceed with Ourzazate and Saudi came on board. “Acting as a regional facilitator DESERTEC Power addresses the in-kingdom needs for both renewable energy and desalinated water production, according to a recent DESERTEC press release. MORE
And in any situation, strong water systems make the most of what they have – including through treating and reusing waste water like at the Al Gabal Asfar water treatment plant in Egypt. Then they used to plant in the areas behind the barriers,” he added. million barrels of oil a day to power its desalination plants , although it is looking to develop solar-powered plants. Water scarcity has already become a fact of daily life for Egyptians. MORE
But that doesn’t seem to have deterred the strength of the initiative, which is designed to enable Europe to import one fifth of its power by 2050 from renewable energy plants scattered across Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and other North African and Middle Eastern countries, as firms in China and other countries make moves to get involved. MORE
has plans to replace its Mishor Rotem oil shale plant with more viable natural gas. Initially installed in 1978 as a pilot project, the Mishor Rotem oil shale plant will soon be shut down. A newer, cleaner, natural gas plant will take its place. Located in the Negev desert, the Mishor Rotem plant was initially established as a Research & Development project funded in part by Israel’s National Infrastructure Ministry. MORE
But for years outdated Middle East bigotry pervaded the ranks of the Arab League of which Israel was never a part despite about half its population being both Israeli Arabs and Arab Jews from countries like Iraq, Morocco, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. . MORE
Part of the technology refines the organic Rankine Cycle – which produces electricity from low-temperature heat — upon which an estimated 250 power plants are built today. Taking their experiences from the automotive industry, Yafa’s engineers found new ways to maximize the power from this cycle, making it up to 15 percent more efficient, says Manasra. Other countries on the short list of potential customers are Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. MORE
MW photovoltaic solar plant wouldn’t even elicit a whisper from mainstream news outlets. To put that into perspective, Masdar is about to complete the world’s largest single unit CSP plant outside of Abu Dhabi. That 100 MW facility will power 20,000 homes. If my calculations are right (and they could be wrong, because I’m a wordsmith not a mathematician), Saudi’s plant will run less than 800 homes. Built anywhere else, a 3.5 MORE
For example, we recently reported about the joint venture between the Spanish multinational Soltec Renewable Energies and Shikun & Binui Solaria to build a solar power plant in Timna, not far from Kibbutz Ketura, where the German multinational Siemens (a part owner of Arava Power Company ) is helping to build the first PV field in Israel. MORE
Green Prophet
AUGUST 6, 2013
Morocco recently announced that it has pre-selected several solar power producers to build two additional concentrated solar power plants (CSP) in Ourzazate. Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power , which is currently building a 160MW CSP plant in the same area, is among the firms picked to bid. Acwa’s 160MW plant will generate energy at a cost of just $0.19
Green Prophet
FEBRUARY 21, 2016
Morocco has activated the Noor I concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, the first part of a three-phase development in the Sahara Desert intended to supply more than a million homes with electricity by 2018. The 500,000 crescent-shaped solar mirrors of Noor I, which sits on thousands of acres of desert terrain near Ouarzazate, will generate up to 160 MW of power.
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Green Prophet
MARCH 18, 2014
The companies Acciona and TSK will be meeting in Dubai to discuss the challenges and opportunities of constructing the Noor I CSP plant in Morocco. Join in on their panel discussion on Morocco’s CSP industry and the lessons learnt on site in Ouarzazate. The 160MW Noor I CSP project in Morocco has been under construction for almost a year and is expected to reach commercial operation in the second half of 2015. Energy Morocco Solar Energy
Green Prophet
NOVEMBER 10, 2011
A huge hydro-wind hybrid power station will double Morocco’s entire installed hydropower capacity – and be a world’s first. The African Development Bank (ADB) has made an offer to invest $329 million of its own money in the groundbreaking hybrid wind and hydro-electric power plant. Although seldom built in tandem as one project like this, hydro power is often used to provide storage for wind power.
Green Prophet
OCTOBER 31, 2011
The free EneR event is a networking and investment platform for those interested in Morocco’s renewable energy markets happening later this month in Casablanca. Morocco is wild, yet for the average business or tourist traveler tame and safe. You won’t find Clarke Gable in Morocco, but business investors interested in new financing opportunities might be advised to head to the EneR event in Casablanca later this month , November 22 to 26.
Green Prophet
OCTOBER 3, 2012
Saudi Arabia gives Morocco a sunny boost, but Joseph looks at Morocco’s bigger renewable energy picture: an aim to use 42% renewables by 2020. According to solarserver.com, Aries Ingeniería y Sistemas and TSK EE will join ACWA for the design, finance, construction, operation and maintenance of the plant, at an estimated development cost of USD 1 billion. The companies plan to begin work on the plant by the end of 2012 and complete the plant near the end of 2014.
Green Prophet
NOVEMBER 12, 2012
Morocco’s ambitious Desertec solar energy project received a setback after Spain failed to show for the official signing of the agreement that aims to transform North Africa’s energy market. The first Desertec project between the EU and Morocco is now under threat as Spain had been an instrumental partner in the project. Morocco imports 97 percent of its energy needs, currently dominated by coal. Image of solar power plant in Spain , Shutterstock.
Green Prophet
AUGUST 22, 2012
Africa’s largest wind farm to date is slated to begin construction as soon as a long-delayed financing agreement is completed, according to Wind Power Monthly. The plant, which will be financed by Attijariwafa Bank, Banque Marocaine du Commerce Extérieur (BMCE) and France’s Banque Populaire, will be built astride the Atlantic ocean in southern Morocco. It is said to be the largest such plant on the African continent.
Green Prophet
JANUARY 19, 2012
Aside from the extraordinary progress being made by Desertec in Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria to develop solar resources that could benefit from these dust-resistant solar panels, Abu Dhabi is by far leading the race to secure a renewable future, consistently putting the United States to shame. :: Smart Planet. More on Masdar City and Solar Power: Abu Dhabi Prince Shames White House by Crowning Roof With Solar Panels.
Green Prophet
FEBRUARY 10, 2014
They will present the case studies of the Shams 1, a 100MW plant in Abu Dhabi and the Noor 1, a 160MW (being constructed in Morocco). In Saudi Arabia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, where the most potential for CSP is evident, there are regulations and requirements that need to be fulfilled. With a power output of 100MW, Shams 1 solar field extends to over 600,000 m2 and it has over 250,000 mirrors.
Green Prophet
JUNE 19, 2012
ACWA rumored to win the contract to build a 160 MW CSP project in in the south of Morocco. “We are going to opt for the offer made by the consortium of ACWA,” a source close to Morocco’s solar energy agency MASEN told Reuters. ACWA Power International is the Saudi-based developer, owner and operator of utility-scale water and power projects. Masdar Awards $600 Million Contract for ‘World’s Largest’ Thermal Plant.
Green Prophet
FEBRUARY 18, 2012
Why does Israel so lag Arab neighbors like Morocco and Egypt in its renewable energy production? I do not understand how the nation that invented CSP solar thermal – the solar energy that now powers much of the worlds gigantic utility-scale solar plants – can be just now announcing some tiny 35 MW solar project as its “largest ever!” It’s first and currently only large-scale solar plant is a 5 MW facility on a kibbutz in the Negev.
Green Prophet
DECEMBER 23, 2013
But the study looked well beyond the UAE to regions in Morocco, Egypt, and even the Palestinian Authority. Dammed river in Morocco, for hydropower, before and after. The images from the Jiyeh Power Plant bombing in 2006 and its resultant oil spill in Lebanon and the oil fires in Kuwait as a result of the 1990 invasion by Iraqi forces, vividly show the environmental impacts of conflict.
Green Prophet
APRIL 24, 2012
Some notable new investments made in the MENA region include a new solar thermal power plant in Saudi Arabia. In countries such as Egypt, where fuel subsidies are rooted in the financial structure of the country’s budget, the high oil prices encourages the development of renewable energy power. Rising fuel costs and increasing demand in solar power reduces the need of governmental incentives to support the growth of renewable energy.
Green Prophet
MARCH 5, 2013
And in any situation, strong water systems make the most of what they have – including through treating and reusing waste water like at the Al Gabal Asfar water treatment plant in Egypt. Then they used to plant in the areas behind the barriers,” he added. million barrels of oil a day to power its desalination plants , although it is looking to develop solar-powered plants. Water scarcity has already become a fact of daily life for Egyptians.
Environmental Economics
MARCH 14, 2016
Following best practices for open science the team has also made all of the data from the project publicly-available here including all of the information on power plant locations, mortality rates, emissions factors and transport data. Traffic congestion damages from gasoline in Morocco? Lucas Davis at the Energy Institute at Haas blog (emphasis added): Last month Meredith wrote about coal being too cheap and Max wrote about gasoline being too cheap.
Green Prophet
FEBRUARY 28, 2011
Large solar array plants, like those being installed by companies like BrightSource even ran into problems in the USA when a large project they were involved in was put on hold in California in 2009 when a planned 5,130 acre solar farm in the Mojave Desert ran into protest from environmentalists and Native American groups. Everything is now on track SolarPower rooftop rural power grid.
Green Prophet
NOVEMBER 16, 2012
A quick call to the Spanish authorities reveals that the government is dealing with the Eurozone crisis and does not have extra funds to be part of the initial phase of Morocco’s Desertec solar project, which aims to deliver renewable energy to Europe. The first Desertec project between the EU and Morocco is consequently under threat as Spain had been an instrumental partner in the project.
Green Prophet
NOVEMBER 9, 2011
The economic woes in Europe due to Greek debt may result in Greece supplying huge amounts of cheap solar power for Europe, by way of paying back its debts, but in the process creating rivalry with Desertec, the visionary plan to supply 15% of Europe’s energy from the deserts of the MENA region. The first power plant to supply the project, a half GW solar power plant in Morocco, is beginning next year.
Green Prophet
NOVEMBER 7, 2012
But that doesn’t seem to have deterred the strength of the initiative, which is designed to enable Europe to import one fifth of its power by 2050 from renewable energy plants scattered across Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and other North African and Middle Eastern countries, as firms in China and other countries make moves to get involved.
Green Prophet
FEBRUARY 20, 2013
When Spain ditched DESERTEC’s solar interests in Morocco , the blogosphere was quick to pronounce the initiative Dead Before Arrival. Morocco found its own way to proceed with Ourzazate and Saudi came on board. “Acting as a regional facilitator DESERTEC Power addresses the in-kingdom needs for both renewable energy and desalinated water production, according to a recent DESERTEC press release.
Green Prophet
NOVEMBER 22, 2012
Morocco and Egypt have the biggest wind power plants, but don’t discount Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Wind power has taken a backseat to solar power across the Middle East and North Africa, but there are still some ambitious projects in wind power being undertaken across the region. Two of the largest wind farms in the world are in the region, in Morocco and Egypt. Morocco’s Tarfaya Wind Farm.
Green Prophet
JUNE 22, 2012
Pilot Andre Borschberg was forced to fly the Solar Impulse back to Rabat when turbulence made it impossible to cross the Atlas Mountains in southern Morocco on June 14, 2012. Despite its long wing span, the world’s first sun-powered plane capable of flying day and night weighs the same as a family car, which prohibits it from entering areas that experience high winds and other climatic extremes. More on the Solar Impulse Journey: Morocco to Welcome Solar Impulse Pilots.
Green Prophet
NOVEMBER 24, 2011
Today, Desertec and Medgrid signed an agreement to strengthen co-operation on building renewable energy from the deserts and the huge grid to move the power. Desertec, which a mere few years ago was just an impractical vision of a chain of power plants in the North African sun to power 15% of Europe. In a marriage made in renewable energy heaven, the two most ambitious energy plans in the world have joined forces.
Green Prophet
JANUARY 21, 2012
We have listed 6 big and small solar-powered projects in the MENA region that have inspired us in the hopes that it will do the same for you. Big or small, solar-powered projects in the Middle East and North Africa are transforming our region. The Desertec initiative to establish renewable energy generating plants in North African countries astride the Mediterranean Sea is easily one of the most ambitious and exciting programs in the MENA region. Bedouin Solar Power Activate!
Green Prophet
NOVEMBER 7, 2011
took a field trip to Egypt’s first solar-thermal plant 90km south of Cairo! The buses were headed for Kuraymat, Egypt’s very first solar-thermal plant located 90km south of Cairo, and Green Prophet was on the scene. Step in for exclusive photographs of this 150 MW Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) power plant , which has been feeding energy into the grid since July, 2011. . Renewable Energy professionals from Europe and Egypt (and Green Prophet!)
Green Prophet
MAY 17, 2012
This wood waste may not like fuel for a solar power plant, but it soon could be. The EU is funding the pilot Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in Egypt with 11,755,049 Euros, through the EU Seventh Framework Programme. The solar energy is to come from a concentrating solar power technology using molten salts as the heat transfer fluid, the same way that Masdar’s Gemasolar plant in Spain works, in the first 24-hour solar power plant in the world.
Green Prophet
JANUARY 23, 2012
The new unit, Energy Solutions, will invest in wind, solar, thermal and hydro power, according to a report at The National. Just some of the projects that Energy Solutions is considering include several wind farm tenders in Morocco - a nation with huge potential to produce not just its own power from renewables but to power Europe as well, It plans to jump off with a flying start with investment starting this year.
Green Prophet
JANUARY 26, 2012
Desertec’s first link in the chain will be a 500 MW solar power project that will begin construction in Morocco at an estimated cost of $US 2.8 Desertec signed an agreement to strengthen co-operation with MedGrid, the other most ambitious renewable energy consortiums in the region that has as many as 20 Mediterranean countries studying how to export 5 GW of power to Europe which involves numerous technical, economic and institutional challenges.
Green Prophet
DECEMBER 11, 2011
Algeria’s state-owned Sonelgaz has just signed the third deal in the MENA region to export desert solar power to Europe, with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate with the European Desertec Initiative (DII) in the export of solar from the country, according to a report at Platts. Algeria’s Sonelgaz is already a pioneer in solar/gas hybrid power in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.
Green Prophet
NOVEMBER 16, 2011
Its Cerro del Águila Hydroelectric Power Plant will be located in the province of Tayacaja. Peru’s Energy and Mines Ministry, Pedro Sanchez said in a press release that the project is one of three hydroelectric plants it was seeking tenders for building and operating, that will require a combined investment of $1.7 About half of the power produced by all three proposed hydro projects will go to the mining industry in Peru, which accounts for 59% of all its exports.
Green Prophet
APRIL 19, 2013
Situated even deeper in the desert than Morocco and prone to locust swarms , Mauritania’s topography consists of the “ mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara ” – as the CIA puts it. But they’ve got sun and they’ve got wind and now they’ve got Africa’s largest solar photovoltaic plant. One PV plant = 10% of the country’s capacity.
Green Prophet
JANUARY 18, 2013
Saudi production will be based on large-scale ground-mounted arrays and CSP plants. Abu Dhabi is moving forward with Shams-1 , the world’s largest single-unit (100MW) concentrating solar power plant. GW of PV capacity by 2014 and Dubai aims to source 5% of its power supply from solar by 2030. Jordan and Morocco also have solar ambitions. Business & Politics Energy concentrated solar power Desertec feed-in-tariffs Masdar photovoltaics Shams solar powe
Green Prophet
JANUARY 25, 2012
Now the fourth Desertec project, by far the largest-ever solar plant in the world – for 2,000 MW of solar power – is to be built in Tunisia. worldwide at 354 MW, and over four times larger than the biggest power plant of any type in Tunisia, a 471 MW gas power plant. Solar thermal uses steam-driven turbines like coal or gas plants. Wow, the Desertec vision is barreling into realization!
Green Prophet
JANUARY 31, 2013
MW photovoltaic solar plant wouldn’t even elicit a whisper from mainstream news outlets. To put that into perspective, Masdar is about to complete the world’s largest single unit CSP plant outside of Abu Dhabi. That 100 MW facility will power 20,000 homes. If my calculations are right (and they could be wrong, because I’m a wordsmith not a mathematician), Saudi’s plant will run less than 800 homes. Built anywhere else, a 3.5
Green Prophet
MARCH 8, 2011
has plans to replace its Mishor Rotem oil shale plant with more viable natural gas. Initially installed in 1978 as a pilot project, the Mishor Rotem oil shale plant will soon be shut down. A newer, cleaner, natural gas plant will take its place. Located in the Negev desert, the Mishor Rotem plant was initially established as a Research & Development project funded in part by Israel’s National Infrastructure Ministry.
Green Prophet
MAY 10, 2012
To put 41 GW in perspective, China is the world’s leader in wind power now, overtaking Germany and the U.S. This is a very serious move by a country well able to afford this kind of investment, that till recently has lagged the rest of the MENA region in renewables trailing Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates. “Really they want to maximise their exports of oil, but really what they’re using a lot of their oil for power generation in the country.
Green Prophet
AUGUST 30, 2012
Part of the technology refines the organic Rankine Cycle – which produces electricity from low-temperature heat — upon which an estimated 250 power plants are built today. Taking their experiences from the automotive industry, Yafa’s engineers found new ways to maximize the power from this cycle, making it up to 15 percent more efficient, says Manasra. Other countries on the short list of potential customers are Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.
Green Prophet
FEBRUARY 25, 2011
For example, we recently reported about the joint venture between the Spanish multinational Soltec Renewable Energies and Shikun & Binui Solaria to build a solar power plant in Timna, not far from Kibbutz Ketura, where the German multinational Siemens (a part owner of Arava Power Company ) is helping to build the first PV field in Israel.
Green Prophet
MARCH 7, 2011
Instead of merely being just another solar CSP company, GlassPoint is now the very first solar company in the world that will make solar power in a greenhouse. Initially he focused on the industrial applications of the heat production rather than electric power. They are not subject to hot and dusty desert winds, they don’t have to be built strong – and thus heavy – costing more power to move.
Green Prophet
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
The failed 2009 Waxman Markey climate legislation in the US would have begun only with stationary sources emitting over 25,000 tons of CO2 annually – essentially covering only coal power plants to start with.). But all industrial sectors except electric power production would also be able to claim additional relief of at least another 10%. ZenithSolar Makes Solar Power Affordable. Climate Energy carbon tax clean technology coal Durban solar power South Africa
Green Prophet
SEPTEMBER 1, 2020
But for years outdated Middle East bigotry pervaded the ranks of the Arab League of which Israel was never a part despite about half its population being both Israeli Arabs and Arab Jews from countries like Iraq, Morocco, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. .
Green Prophet
FEBRUARY 21, 2011
IDE has already constructed more than 400 desalination plants in 40 countries, including at least 3 in Israel – the world’s largest reverse osmosis plants. The idea is to power the plants using wasted heat from other sources. The desalinated water will be used both by the power plant to generate electricity as well as for drinking by residents of Tianjin, a city of more than 12 million people.
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