World Bank Co-Finances Morocco's Ouarzazate 500 MW Concentrated Solar Thermal Power

The World Bank approved $297 million in loans to Morocco to support construction and operation of Morocco’s 500-megawatt (MW) Ouarzazate Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant, one of several large scale solar power projects in various stages of planning or development across the solar energy rich Middle East-North Africa region.

Upon completion, the Ouarzazate parabolic trough CSP plant would be one of the largest CSP plants in the world. A group of seven international lenders has committed $1.435 billion dollars to build and develop the project. Ouarzazate is seen as a key milestone for Morocco’s national Solar Power Plan, which was launched in 2009 with the goal of deploying 2000 MW of solar power generation capacity by 2020.

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Although we have witnessed different yet not so eco friendly mediums to generate heat for the home, adopting the route to building a solar heater out of pop cans may sound even more productive. Utilizing recycled cans for the formation of an efficiently devised solar heater is not only a free source of heat for your place, but also a great way to reuse those scrap and trash materials lying around. Right from complementing the compact size of your house’s window to making it considerable enough to heat an open area, accumulating those frittered away cans may now be creatively employed for a solar heater. However, you need to know that the size of the heater basically determines how much of each component you require. Here, we are providing you with step-by-step instructions on how to build a reliable, large solar heater that’s about 6 to 7 feet tall with recycled cans.

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Hybrid solar-wind power connects rural Navajos

by Martin LaMonica

Power transmission lines run a few hundred yards behind the Johnson family home here, but it took an off-grid solar and wind generator to finally bring them electricity service.

The Johnsons, who live on a remote stretch of land on the Navajo Reservation west of Farmington, N.M., are among about 200 families on the Navajo Reservation who rent an off-grid renewable-energy system from the rural utility. They opened their home to visitors last week during a fellowship organized by Institutes for Journalism & Natural Resources.

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