Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/141651
Besides generating clean electricity, Ain Beni Mathar is being used to develop a domestic skill base in Morocco to construct and operate such facilities. It will pave the way for a pipeline of solar projects in Morocco and across North Africa, including Desertec. "Morocco is ideally positioned to serve European markets and to use this positioning to take a technology and market lead," says the World Bank. In 2009, the World Bank's Clean Technology Fund approved a $750 million Investment Plan for Concentrating Solar in the Middle East and North Africa region. It's been raising an additional $4.85 billion for projects in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan. Two similarly sized solar plants will soon be commissioned in Egypt and Algeria. www.sustainablebusiness.com Biggest Solar Project in the World is Under Construction Construction has begun on Antelope Valley Solar Project, the largest solar PV project in the world - at 579 megawatts. Buffet's MidAmerican Solar bought the project from SunPower for $2 billion in January, and SunPower is developing it using its own panels. Six hundred fifty people will be employed to build the project on 3,200 acres, and in 2015, it will begin providing power to 400,000 homes. It is one of several large solar projects being built in the area of Lancaster, the first city to require solar on all new homes. Unlike some solar projects which have been given the goahead even though they are on sensitive lands, the Sierra Club praises this one for environmentally responsible develop- IDA UNIVERSAL July-August 2013 ment. From the outset, it was planned and sited in a way that protects native plants and wildlife, they say. Antelope is being built on former agricultural lands that were planted with alfalfa and other crops that require heavy irrigation. Since it is located on disturbed land, there are no threatened or endangered species. Because it is near existing transmission lines, including a major substation, no new infrastructure is necessary. "The developers listened to our concerns about the local lands and wildlife in the Antelope Valley and incorporated them into the planning and siting for the project," says Georgette Theotig of the Sierra Club Kern-Kaweah Chapter. "The proposal came out stron- ger for it, and we were proud to endorse the project and testify on its behalf during the approval process. Solar projects like this show it's possible to move forward with larger clean energy projects and respect conservation values at the same time." Some locals have criticized the project, however, because it creates a feeling of industrialization in the rural area. SunPower's Oasis® Power Plant is a modular solar technology that can be rapidly deployed for utility-scale projects and that also minimizes land use. Its high-efficiency solar panels are mounted on trackers that follow the sun during the day, increasing energy capture up to 25 percent. Continued on page 59 57