It is safe to say that the planet's reserve for fossil fuels have almost run out. With the global consumption reaching 11 billion tons every year, the current state of the Earth's reserves comes as no surprise. Considering the yearly usage, research suggests that usable coal would run out in less than a century. Because of this problem, there has been a recent scramble to replace fossil fuels with alternative energy sources. Amongst the most popular choices is solar power and were else would it be perfect to harness the sun's power than the Sahara Desert. Such is the case with Morocco's Noor Solar Power Plant.
The Noor was launched by King Mohamed VI in 2013 and the 600 million euro project would be constructed in three stages. The power plant once completed in 2020 would be the largest solar power production facility in the world clocking it at 30 square kilometers. It is expected to generate 580 megawatts of power which can provide electricity to a million homes.
According to several reports, the first phase of the Noor Solar Power Plant has been completed. Initially an inauguration was set for the end of December 2015. The event which supposedly would be attended by the Moroccan Prime Minister was subsequently cancelled without any due explanation.
The delay came following problems with investors pulling out their support for the project after issues about the capabilities of the solar panels arose. Nonetheless, the Moroccan government has remained positive over the prospects of decreasing their dependence on importing fossil fuels through the Noor Solar Power Plant.
"We have a project to introduce 6,000 megawatts to the existing electricity production nationwide. Two thousand megawatts will come from solar energy and 2,000 megawatts from wind and hydroelectric power. Things have been going well so far," the minister said. "We're likely to go beyond 2,000 megawatts by 2020 in the area of wind power." quipped the country's Energy Minister, Abdelkader Amara.