On the edge of the Moroccan Sahara, the Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex is the largest concentrated solar power plant on Earth — a 580 MW symbol of Morocco's bid to become a clean-energy superpower.
On the high plateau just outside Ouarzazate, the **Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex** rises from the desert as one of the most ambitious renewable-energy projects on the planet. With a total installed capacity of **580 megawatts**, it is the largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in the world.
**A Project on a Saharan Scale:**
Noor stretches across roughly **3,000 hectares** — about the size of 4,500 football pitches — at the gateway to the Sahara. Hundreds of thousands of curved mirrors track the sun across the sky, focusing its light onto towers and tubes filled with heat-transfer fluid.
**Built in Stages, Inaugurated by King Mohammed VI:**
The complex was developed in four phases (Noor I, II, III and a photovoltaic Noor IV) by the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN), with international partners including ACWA Power. **King Mohammed VI** inaugurated Noor I in **February 2016**, with the remaining phases coming online by **2018**.
**Power After Sunset:**
What sets Noor apart is its **molten-salt thermal storage system**, which can keep generating electricity for **more than three hours after the sun has set**. This makes it one of the few solar facilities capable of supplying dispatchable power deep into the evening peak demand.
**Energy for Two Million People:**
At full capacity, the complex provides clean electricity for around **two million Moroccans** and avoids hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO₂ emissions every year.
**A Cornerstone of Morocco's Energy Transition:**
Noor Ouarzazate is the flagship of Morocco's strategy to source **52% of its electricity from renewables by 2030**. It has put the country on the global clean-energy map and turned a quiet southern province into a worldwide reference for desert-scale solar power.