Morocco is fast becoming a leader, not just on the tracks but also in terms of energy production. The country has emerged as home to the largest concentrated solar farm in the world. The farm was constructed on over 3,000 hectares of land which equals 3,500 standard-sized football fields. The facility known as the Noor-Quarzazate Complex has the capacity to power a city as large as Prague. By the way, Prague is twice the size of the Moroccan city, Marrakesh.
The farm is sited right at the gateway to the huge Sahara desert and it is expected to produce up to 580 megawatts of power daily. This will be saving the earth from carbon emissions in the region of 760,000 tonnes. The country set an unimaginable energy target to produce a total of 42% of its needed power from renewable sources by 2020. This goal is already in range as the country has already achieved the production of 35%.
The solar farm has curved mirrors, unlike regular solar panels. These are to help concentrate the solar rays to heat up the tubes containing the fluid pumped into a power unit. The power unit holds the power until it is being dispensed at night when it is most required. The farm was constructed from the accumulation of a $400 million loan from the World Bank and 216 million gotten from the Clean Technology Fund.