VOA常速英语:Morocco's First Solar Power Plant to Start Operating in 2015

WASHINGTON— Morocco has announced that its first solar energy plant will begin operating next year. The plant is part of a multi-billion-dollar project aimed at satisfying the growing needs for energy in the North African kingdom. The Nour 1 thermo-solar plant is the first of five that Morocco plans to build by the end of the decade, as it strives to become a world-class renewable energy producer.

Morocco gets more than a half of its energy from coal.

But as its energy requirements grow, the government is encouraging Moroccans to look for cleaner sources of energy.

"We need to find alternative forms of energy to meet Morocco's needs, and the best is solar. It's free energy that is unlimited, available and abundant in Morocco," said Mustapha Bakkoury, head of Morocco’s solar energy agency.

Morocco's first solar power plant is being built near the desert gateway city of Ouarzazate.

"Ouarzazate is an environmentally sustainable city with energy, recycling, land reclamation and water saving resources. It's also about micro-irrigation, wastewater reuse, lighting with solar. It's a smart city," said Hakima el-Haite, the minister of energy, mines, water and environment.

The $770 million project is expected to have the capacity to generate 160 megawatts.

The World Bank, the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank are helping to finance the solar complex, built by Saudi Arabia.

Officials call the project the largest of its kind in the world, and they say it will be operational next year.

To raise awareness of the potential of solar energy for Morocco, the oil-scarce country organized its first international solar festival.

"We organized this festival to show one idea: gold is in the sky. The sun is a treasure for our country. We want to demonstrate this through three main areas: arts and culture, science and technology, knowledge and discovery," said Mehdi Alaoui M’daghri, co-founder of the Morocco Solar Festival.

Morocco expects to build five new solar plants by 2020 with a combined production capacity of 2,000 megawatts at an estimated cost of $9 billion. Officials are hoping to produce enough clean energy to export some of it to nearby Europe.