Solar plane heads to world’s largest solar plant
INNOVATIONS
By BiztechAfrica - June 22, 2012, 8:56 a.m.
The solar plane that made an historic intercontinental flight earlier this month has left forOuarzazate, where Morocco is building the world's largest solar-thermal plant.
After completing its historic 2,500km intercontinental flight to Morocco earlier this month, the Swiss solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse, has left Morocco's capital, Rabat, on the second attempt at its most challenging flight yet — to the Sahara desert andOuarzazate, where Moroccois building the world's largest solar-thermal plant to harness renewable power from the Sahara sun for North Africa and Europe.
The pioneering solar-powered aircraft faced difficult weather conditions that last week forced pilot Andre Borschberg to turn back.
The solar plane, powered by 12,000 solar cells, is being used to highlight renewable energy technologies, under the patronage of King Mohammed VI and at the invitation of the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy, MASEN, which oversees Morocco's solar energy plans.
The flight coincides with the construction launch of the World Bank-financed solar thermal project in Ouarzazate — the first of five sites — that will produce 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy and create many jobs in the area.
The historic solar-powered aircraft flight
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