Solar Power Network - Morocco | Green Energy News

September 14, 2003 – Vol.8 No.25

SOLAR POWER NETWORK - MOROCCO.

Where there is no power grid - but access to electric power is clearly needed - a networked distributed generation system may be the cost effective choice over building a traditional large-scale grid. Even though solar energy is still fairly expensive, overall it may be competitive when compared with the cost of building a conventional grid infrastructure and power plants from scratch.

Twenty thousand people in rural Morocco now without access to grid-supplied electricity will soon be connected to reliable solar energy by way of a local solar energy distribution network.

In partnership with Moroccan oil company Compagnie Marocaine des Hydrocarbures (CMH), Apex-BP Solar a subsidiary of BP France, has been awarded a contract by the state-owned electric utility to build, service and maintain a network of solar systems in the Chichaoua Province, south of Marrakesh. A new company, BP Maroc, has been established to build the system over three years, as well as provide maintenance and business services for 10 years, such as invoicing customers for the solar electricity.

Aside from providing reliable electricity for domestic needs in an area where access to electricity is limited, the project is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10,000 tons over a 10-year period. Visit BP Solar at http://www.bpsolar.com/ .