Re:Vast solar power plant at the Moroccan desert
by mikeyouse on Monday December 05, 2016 @08:26PM
(#13111514)
There are a few things that aren't quite right here.. Primarily that Europe and the Sahara have equal sunlight availability.
The Moroccan plant is in Ouarzazate, which has an average annual irradiance of ~2,200 kWh/sq. meter.[1] Southern Spain is the sunniest part of Europe and the best locations there are closer to 1,800 kWh/sq. meter.[2] That's over 20% more solar energy in Morocco.
The other bit that's not really accurate is about Transmission losses. It's about 400 miles from Ouarzazate to Gilbatrar. Modern HVDC lines have losses of ~3.5% over 1,000km, so call it 3% for this project.[3] That's extremely reasonable for an energy project.
The Moroccan plant is in Ouarzazate, which has an average annual irradiance of ~2,200 kWh/sq. meter.[1] Southern Spain is the sunniest part of Europe and the best locations there are closer to 1,800 kWh/sq. meter.[2] That's over 20% more solar energy in Morocco.
The other bit that's not really accurate is about Transmission losses. It's about 400 miles from Ouarzazate to Gilbatrar. Modern HVDC lines have losses of ~3.5% over 1,000km, so call it 3% for this project.[3] That's extremely reasonable for an energy project.
[1] - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/SolarGIS...
[2] - http://www.mappery.com/maps/Solar-Radiation-Map-of-Spain.png
[3] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-voltage_direct_current#Ad...