Morocco, is soon to have the world's biggest solar power plant. 'Noor', the giant plant is located near the town of Ouarzazate, sprawling across thousands of acres on the Saharan desert.

The first phase of this World Bank funded project, 'Noor I', has been officially launched on February 5. The present stage will generate 160 MW of power, enough to electrify, the households in the city continuously for 3 hours. When the next two phases, Noor II and Noor III, are completed by 2018, the plant will be the single largest solar power production project in the world generating 580MW. The installation of the 3 phases, will cover the same area as the country's capital, Rabat.

Morocco is currently dependent on imported sources for 97 percent of its energy consumption. This massive project is the outcome of Morocco's pledge to get 42% of its electricity generation from renewable sources by 2020. It is important to note that the United Kingdom, a much richer European country, is planning only for 30% by the same year. The United Nations has praised Morocco for its efforts.