SeeNews Renewables
by Mariyana Yaneva
French industrial cast iron foundry Niederbronn-les-Bains has been selected to provide key elements for the mirrors in the Noor III concentrated solar power (CSP) plant near Ouarzazate in Morocco.
The French company will produce and deliver over 2,000 tonnes of iron cast frames to support the huge mirrors of the solar plant, Moroccan newswebsite Challenge reports.
The Alsace-based foundry was chosen for its capacity to cast a special type of iron, extra resistant to the weather conditions at the plant as well as to produce 35 pieces of metal an hour.
The foundry, which has 190 employees, has already hired 25 new workers for the duration of the contract, which will help it raise its revenue by EUR 4.5 million (USD 5m), Challenges said.
Noor III, the 150 MW third phase of the giant solar power complex at the Ouarzazate site, will spread on an area of 750 hectares. It will employ a CSP technology with a central tower with salt receivers, plus seven to eight hours of energy storage capability. It will sell power at MAD 1.42 per kWh while construction costs have been estimated at EUR 645 million.
