Sterling and Wilson to build solar PV facility in Morocco

Solar engineering firm Sterling and Wilson today said it has signed pact with a consortium led by ACWA Power to construct a 170 mega watt (MW) photo-voltaic facility in the Kingdom of Morocco.
The Shapoorji Pallonji Group company, which has over 1 GW of installations on ground, is expected to begin construction on the project, NOOR PV I Programme, shortly and is estimated to take 12 months to complete.
The NOOR PV I Programme will consist of three projects: NOOR Ouarzazate IV with a capacity of around 70 MW, NOOR Laayoune (80 MW) and NOOR Boujdour (20 MW).
The electricity produced by the plants using photovoltaic (PV) technology will power thousands of homes and reduce carbon emissions by thousands of tonnes every year, the company said in a statement.

"We have been selected as the EPC contractor for what will be one of the largest Solar PV plants in North Africa," it said, adding once completed, the plant is expected to be operational for 20 years.
Sterling and Wilson president (renewable and electrical) Bikesh Ogra said that the projects have been awarded after an intense competitive bidding process.

"Morocco has been one of our most important target markets and these projects would hopefully enable us to consolidate our positioning for all forthcoming opportunities in the country and the region as a whole," Ogra added.
Sterling and Wilson said it would also be contributing to the local development of the community by ensuring maximum engagement of local resources on these projects.

The company would provide specialised training locally to both skilled and unskilled resources in order to meet the project expectations.