The Noor Ouarzazate IV power station in the southern province of Ouarzazate, spanned over an area of 137 hectares (1.37 square km), will be set up with over $75 million with photovoltaic (PV) technology, Xinhua news agency reported. The power station, scheduled to start operating in the first quarter of 2018, will be built as part of a partnership involving the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen), and a consortium of private operators led by the Saudi Arabian Acwa Power group and German development bank KfW. While the first station has started operating in 2016, the second and third power stations of Noor solar complex have reached a completion rate of 76 and 74 per cent respectively. The mega project will generate 582 megawatts and provide electricity to over a million homes when completed by 2020. The plant represents a critical step in the Moroccan Solar Energy Program, which aims to generate 42 per cent of its electricity needs through renewable energy by 2020 and 52 per cent by 2030.
