SOR Measurement and Control was awarded a sizeable order for liquid level switches as part of the Noor Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Plant in Morocco that is intended to supply power to more than a million homes in the region.
(Lenexa, Kansas USA – July 29, 2016) – The Noor power plant is constructed near the town of Ouarzazate(opens in a new tab). Phase I of this project makes it one of the largest solar thermal power plants in the world, generating up to 160 megawatts of power. According to the Guardian,(opens in a new tab) the plant will be the single largest solar power production facility in the world once the next two phases, Noor II and Noor III are completed.
According to the World Bank, which helped fund the project, Morocco currently relies on imports for 97 percent of its energy needs. This investment will allow Morocco to be less reliant on foreign sources and will reduce the country’s carbon emissions by millions of tons.
“This Noor project award represents our commitment to being part of a cleaner, renewable power generation solution for the future. We have a focused effort to support renewable energy projects both with our current product portfolio and future research and development efforts,” said SOR President & CEO, Mike Waters.
Concentrated Solar Thermal Power uses many of the same processes as a typical fossil fuel burning power plant, however, instead of burning coal to heat water to create steam, concentrated heat energy from the sun is used to heat the water, converting it into steam to turn the turbines which generate electricity.
On a global basis, solar energy currently accounts for 0.3% and is expected to grow to 1.6% by 2040 according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). It is the fastest growing sector within renewable energy.
SOR Controls Group, Ltd. (SCG) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of measurement and control devices under the brands of SOR Inc.(opens in a new tab), Smart Sensors Incorporated (SSi)(opens in a new tab), SETEX Products(opens in a new tab) and SENSOR.(opens in a new tab) SOR Controls Group actively serves all sectors of the process industry with particular strength in the oil & gas, petrochemical, chemical and power segments. A network of sales and service personnel capable of addressing customer requirements are supported by SCG around the world.