Noor, the giant solar farm at the gateway to the Sahara

Ouarzazate, the gateway to the Sahara in southern Morocco, is becoming a pathway to clean energy in the 21^st century. Called Noor (“light”), the solar farm has thousands of animated mirrors over a surface area greater than that of Paris, and by 2020 it will have a 580-Megawatt (MW) capacity, enough to supply one million households. The country will then derive 42 % of its energy consumption from renewable sources according to public authorities, who plan to add further solar, wind, and hydroelectric capacity to increase that percentage to 52 % by 2030. In the near future, Morocco could export part of its green electricity to Europe and the Arab world.