RABAT, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's King Mohammed VI launched Saturday in the southern province of Ouarzazate the fourth and final stage of Noor Ouarzazate, the world's largest solar plant.
The Noor Ouarzazate IV power station, spanned over an area of 137 hectares (1.37 square km), will be set up with over 75 million U.S. dollars with photovoltaic (PV) technology.
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 percent 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 percent of its electricity needs through renewable energy by 2020 and 52 percent by 2030.
