Ouarzazate Solar Power Station

Ouarzazate Solar Power Station (OSPS), also called Noor Power Station (نور, Arabic for light) is a solar power complex and auxiliary diesel fuel system located in the Drâa-Tafilalet region in Morocco, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Ouarzazate town, in Ghessat rural council area. At 510 MW, it is the world's largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. With an additional 72 MW photovoltaic system the entire project was planned to produce 582 MW. The total project's estimated cost is around $2.5 billion.[3][4]

Ouarzazate Solar Power Station
Country
LocationOuarzazate
Coordinates31°02′57″N 6°52′10″W
StatusOperational
Construction beganMay 2013
Commission dateFebruary 2016 (February 2016)[1]
Construction cost$9 billion[2]
Owner(s)
Cooling sourceEl Mansour Eddahbi Dam/Reservoir
Power generation
Nameplate capacity
  • 510 MW
Annual net output370 GWh (Noor I)
600 GWh (Noor II)
500 GWh (Noor III)
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons

The auxiliary diesel fuel system is used to maintain the minimal temperatures of the heat transfer fluid during times when the sun does not shine (including at night), to start the startup and synchronize the turbine to the electrical grid, and other auxiliary functions.[5]

The plant is able to store solar energy in the form of heated molten salt, allowing for production of electricity into the night. Phase 1 comes with a full-load molten salt storage capacity of three hours. Noor II, commissioned in 2018,[6] and Noor III, commissioned in January 2019, store energy for up to eight hours.[7] It will cover an area of 2,500 hectares (6,178 acres).

Development

The project was developed by ACWA Power with the help of the Spanish consortium TSK-Acciona-Sener and is the first in a series of planned developments at the Ouarzazate Solar Complex by the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN).[8] The project received preferential financing from several sources including the Clean Technology Fund, African Development Bank, the World Bank, and the European Investment Bank; the EIB has loaned over 300 million euros to the project.[9][10]

Location

The facility lies in Southern Morocco, near the ancient fortified town Ait-Ben-Haddou, near Ouarzazate.[10][9]

Noor I
Noor 1 nearing inauguration in December 2015

Ouarzazate Solar Power Station (OSPS) – Phase 1, also referred to as Noor I CSP, has an installed capacity of 160 MW. It was connected to the Moroccan power grid on 5 February 2016.[11] It covers 450 hectares (1,112 acres) and is expected to deliver 370 GWh per year.[12] The plant is a parabolic trough type with a molten salt storage for 3 hours of low-light producing capacity.

The cost of the project when it began operations was $3.9 billion.[13] It uses half a million mirrors.[14]

The design uses wet cooling and the need to regularly clean the reflectors means that the water use is high – 1.7 million m3 per year or 4.6 liters per kWh.[15] Water usage is more than double the water usage of a wet cooled coal power station and 23 times the water use per kWh of a dry cooled coal power station,[16] though life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of solar thermal plants show that generating comparable energy from coal typically releases around 20 times more carbon dioxide than renewable sources.[17]

The electricity was to be sold at $0.19 /kWh.[18]

The monthly production of electricity of the power plant Noor I in 2017 in MWh was:[19][20]

  • January: 30261.44
  • February: 19418.25
  • March: 48605.63
  • April: 40376.02
  • May: 45445.62
  • June: 33369.19
  • July: 42276.52
  • August: 30850
  • September: 41205.18
  • October: 31973.98
  • November: 22689.4
  • December: 27628.56

Noor II

Noor II CSP is the second phase of the Ouarzazate Solar Power Station. It is a 200 MW CSP solar plant using parabolic troughs. It has a seven hour storage capacity.[21] It covers an area of 680 hectares (1,680 acres) and is expected to supply 600 GWh per year.[22] Construction started in February 2016[21] and the plant was commissioned in January 2018.[6]

It uses a dry cooling system to decrease water use.[23] The project will supply one million people with electricity; it is estimated to save 750,000 tons in CO2 emissions.[9][24][25]

Noor III
Noor III solar tower at dusk

Noor III CSP is the third part of the Ouarzazate Solar Power Station. Noor 3 is a different design, the mirrors are mounted horizontally on platforms which are supported by ten metre columns. Each platform is roughly the size of a tennis court. The panels follow the light, reflecting it to a 250 metre tall solar tower.[9] It is a 150 MW gross CSP solar project using a solar power tower with 7 hours energy storage.[26] It covers an area of 550 hectares (1,359 acres) and it is expected to supply 500 GW·h per year.[22] It uses a dry cooling system to decrease water use.[23] The CSP tower mirror field was commissioned in March 2018.[27] Noor III is the fifth ever built utility-scale CSP tower, but the second with energy storage, after the 125 MW gross Crescent Dunes. At 150 MW Noor III is now the most powerful CSP tower unit built.[28] In September 2018 the CSP tower unit was first time synchronized to the power grid. In December Noor III completed a 10-day reliability test demonstrating that the project can provide continuous rated power even in the absence of sunlight.[29] The model HE54 heliostat has 54 mirrors with a total reflective surface of 178.5 square metres (1,921 sq ft). The solar field has 7400 of such mirrors. The tower is 250 metres (820 ft) high.

Noor IV

Noor IV is a 72 MW photovoltaic power station.[30][31] The total investment in this project is 750 million MAD or about 83 million USD.[32]

Water use

Water consumption for the Ouarzazate Noor complex is estimated at 2.5 to 3 million m3 per year for one wet-cooling project (Noor I) and two dry-cooling projects (Noor II and III). The water is sourced from the Mansour Eddahbi dam via pipeline.[33]

Water is needed for cooling, as well as to clean the reflectors regularly with high-pressure water hoses and brushes from trucks.[9]

Fossil fuel use

Fuel needs for the Ouarzazate complex have been estimated at 19 t/day of gasoil for a capacity of 500 MW.[34]

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ouarzazate Solar Power Station.

References
  1. "Morocco to switch on first phase of world's largest solar plant". theguardian.com. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  2. "Morocco to switch on first phase of world's largest solar plant". theguardian.com. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  3. "Noor IV lancée, parachevant la méga-centrale solaire de Ouarzazate". April 2017.
  4. Neslen, Arthur (2015-10-26). "Morocco poised to become a solar superpower with launch of desert mega-project". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  5. "Ouarzazate Solar Power Complex, Phase 1
    Morocco
    Specific Environmental and Social Impact Assessment
    Volume 1"     (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-07.
  6. "Concentrating Solar Power Projects - NOOR II | Concentrating Solar Power | NREL". www.nrel.gov. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  7. Neslen, Arthur (26 October 2015). "Morocco poised to become a solar superpower with launch of desert mega-project". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  8. "ACWA POWER | Nooro I CSP IPP". www.acwapower.com. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  9. "A Revelation in the Desert". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  10. "OVERVIEW - Morocco to add 4 GW of wind, solar capacity by 2020". Renewablesnow.com. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  11. Vorrath, Sophie (2016-02-05). "First 160MW of huge Noor solar thermal plant connected to Moroccan grid". RenewEconomy. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  12. "Project Ourzazate Solar Power Station – Phase I
    Country: Kingdom of Morocco
    Project Appraisal Report
    Date: April 2012"     (PDF).
  13. Neslen, Arthur (2016-02-04). "Morocco to switch on first phase of world's largest solar plant". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  14. "Morocco's Massive Desert Solar Project Starts Up". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  15. "Ouarzazate Solar Power Complex, Phase 1
    Morocco
    Specific Environmental and Social Impact Assessment
    Volume 1"     (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-07.
  16. "Majuba Power Station". www.eskom.co.za. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  17. "NREL: Energy Analysis - Life Cycle Assessment Harmonization Results and Findings". www.nrel.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-05-06. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  18. "Morocco starts production at 160 MW solar plant - Agricultural Commodities -Reuters". af.reuters.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  19. « https://noorouarzazate.blogspot.com/ », These data were given by a student that made his internship in Nomac, April 23rd, 2019.
  20. « https://www.nomac.com/en/our-operations/nomac-globally/nooro-i-csp-ipp/ », Nomac, January 2019.
  21. "Concentrating Solar Power Projects - NOOR II | Concentrating Solar Power | NREL". www.nrel.gov. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  22. "Ouarzazate Solar Complex Project – Phase II (NOORo II AND NOORo III power plants)" (PDF).
  23. "Project: Ouarzazate Solar Power Station Project II
    Country: Morocco
    Summary environmental and social impact assessment"     (PDF).
  24. "Background Brief on Morrocco's Concentrated Solar Power Plant Noor-Ouarzazate". Climate Investment Funds. 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  25. "MOROCCO'S NOOR: LARGEST CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER PLANT IN AFRICA" (PDF). Cop 22 Africa in Action.
  26. "Concentrating Solar Power Projects - NOOR III". solarpaces.nrel.gov. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  27. "World's second utility-scale 24/7 tower CSP, Noor III commissions solar field". www.eurekalert.org. 11 March 2018. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  28. "First synchronisation of phase III of the world's largest CSP". www.modernpowersystems.com. 28 October 2018. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  29. "Moroccan Molten Salt Tower Project Clears Reliability Test". www.powermag.com. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  30. "PROJET DE NOOR OUARZAZATE IV (72 MW)" (in French).
  31. "Noor IV lancée, parachevant la méga-centrale solaire de Ouarzazate". Le Desk. 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  32. Louis Boisgibault, Fahad Al Kabbani (2020): Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts. Wiley - ISTE. (Energy series) ISBN 9781786304995.
  33. "Ouarzazate Solar Power Complex, Phase 1
    Morocco
    Specific Environmental and Social Impact Assessment"     (PDF).
  34. Morocco - Ouarzazate Solar Power Station Project II - ESIA Summary
    Summary environmental and social impact assessment
    African Development Bank Group|url=https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Environmental-and-Social-Assessments/Morocco_-_Ouarzazate_Solar_Power_Station_Project_II_-_ESIA_Summary.pdf
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