Morocco is home to Africa’s biggest solar project Noor whereas South Africa hosts eight of the ten largest solar plants in Africa. Power-technology lists Africa’s biggest operational solar projects by installed capacity.
The Noor Solar Complex is a 500MW solar park located in the municipality of Ouarzazate in the Agadir district of Morocco. It is the biggest concentrated solar power plant project in the world.
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The location of the project offers 2,635kWh/m² of sunlight a year, which is considered to be one of the highest in the world. The solar park integrates multiple utility-scale solar power plants equipped with various solar technologies.
The Noor solar park includes Noor I, Noor II and Noor III projects, which occupy an area of 2,500ha. The three power plants were grid connected by 2018. The Noor Solar Complex offsets 760,000t of CO2 emissions a year.
Located in the Northern Cape, South Africa, the De Aar solar project was developed by Solar Capital. The project encompasses two phases (De Aar 1 and De Aar 3) with a combined installed capacity of 175MW.
From Power Technology.
De Aar 1 was commissioned in 2014 and became operational in 2016. The
project as developed under the South African Government’s Renewable
Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
The De Aar solar project supplies green electricity to power up to 100,000 South African homes, making it the largest solar farm in the country.
