Noor Solar Station

Noor Ouarzazate was built in phases from 2013 on the flat north of the town and is among the largest concentrated solar power complexes in the world - the first three phases use mirrors to focus sunlight onto a receiver, heating molten salt that drives a turbine, which means the plant can keep generating for hours after dark, unlike photovoltaic panels; the third phase does it with a single tower about 240 metres high surrounded by a field of heliostats, which is visible from a long way off and is the thing you see. A fourth phase is photovoltaic. Total capacity is several hundred megawatts. The site is industrial and secure and is not a visitor attraction: what most people do is look at it from the road, where the tower and the mirror field are legible in the landscape. Arranged visits happen for professional groups. It sits in a country with almost no oil and a great deal of sun.

What you actually see

• A 240-metre tower - the third phase's receiver, visible from a long way across the flat.
• Mirror fields - heliostats tracking the sun over several square kilometres.
• Storage in salt - molten salt letting the plant generate for hours after sunset.
• A view from the road - the practical way to see it, since the site is secure.

When to go

October to April; midday when the mirrors are tracking. Two hours.

Honest expectations

It is a working power station and not open to casual visitors - arranged visits only. What you can do is look from the road. There is no visitor centre. Photographing security infrastructure is not advisable.

Nearby

Ouarzazate is south; Ait Ben Haddou is west.