• Tweet ^[1]
• Share on Tumblr ^[2]
• Email ^[3]

^[4]

The first phase of a massive renewable energy ^[5] plan is now in place in Morocco with the official opening of a 165 turbine wind farm ^[6] just outside of Tangiers. Official sources say that the wind farm — located in the town of Melloussa — is the largest on the African continent. The wind farm was inaugurated today by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and is estimated to have cost about $250 million dollars to install. The final project — which includes solar ^[7], wind and hydraulic power — will supply Morocco with 42% of their total power needs.

^[8]

In total the 165 turbines will supply Morocco with about 140 megawatts of power. The new farm in Melloussa will join another smaller wind farm ^[6] in northern Morocco that has a 54 megawatt capacity. Morocco’s Minister of Energy and Mining, Yamsmina Benkhadra said that the project would be completed in 2020 and is part of a national mission to, “assure our energy security and a sustainable development.” The project’s final cost will be $3 billion.

This project is being built concurrently with the Desertec ^[9] initiative, which is populating a portion of the Saharan desert with solar panels in order to supply energy to Europe. Looks like the sands of Africa are heating up the energy ^[10] world as of late.

Via Physorg ^[11]