Casablanca – Morocco broke ground on its US220 million solar photovoltaic (PV) plant on Sunday, in the southern province of Ouarzazate, considered the biggest of its kind in the whole world, with a 582 MGW production capacity.

The station will be spanned over an area of 137 hectares and will be set up with photovoltaic (PV) technology.

This project comes in line with the Moroccan Kingdom’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gases emissions and its plans to increase the contribution of solar power in the national energy production to 52% by 2030.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI attended the groundbreaking of this project – developed by the Saudi ACWA Power- aiming to provide a production capacity of 72 MGW of electricity after it concludes in 2018.

This deal is the fourth to be awarded to ACWA Power, as part of the Moroccan plans in this field. The Saudi group has recently won projects to construct three solar power plants in Ouarzazate.

The four stations, named “Noor Ouarzazate” come as part of the Moroccan ambitions to cover 50% of the country’s electricity needs through renewable energy resources (wind, solar, and dams) by 2030.

ACWA Power was selected through an international tender and will, after it presented the best technical offer and the lowest production cost. As per the forth plant, ACWA Power won the deal after presenting the most competitive offer to ever be presented in such projects (USD0.046 for KW/Hour).

Mohammad Abunayyan, the Chairman of Abunayyan Holding and ACWA Power International, said his company is proud to contribute in fulfilling the ambitious goals set by the Moroccan Kingdom, which adopted a wise strategy in the field of renewable energy.

Just like in the other three projects working with concentrated solar power at the Noor complex in Ouarzazate, the new project will not only be dedicated to produce pure energy, but will also contribute in setting national strategic foundations for development based on renewable energy – it will launch a new dynamic in the fields of services, production, scientific research, and innovation.

Abunayyan added that ACWA Power will provide Morocco with all its expertise in the field of renewable energy and water desalination. The Saudi company has accumulated these experiences with over 11 years working on global projects with high investments and great production capacity.