Rabat – Safran Nacelle Morocco, a subsidiary of French aeronautic parts manufacturer Safran, inaugurated on Friday a new photovoltaic power station to supply its plant in Nouaceur province with green energy.
Photovoltaic power stations are equipped with panels that convert thermal energy into electricity, while solar panels convert solar radiation into heat.
Safran’s new photovoltaic power station has a capacity of 1.7 megawatts and could cover more than 20% of the annual energy need of the aeronautic parts production plant, according to a report from Morocco’s Press Agency (MAP).
The power station could reduce the plant’s CO2 emissions by 2,000 tonnes through 3,000 photovoltaic panels.
Present at the inauguration of the power plant was Morocco’s Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Banali.
To execute the project, Safran Nacelles Morocco partnered with Qair Maroc, a company specializing in the production of green electricity.
Safran further plans to boost the production capacity of the plant by adding 1,800 additional panels in 2023. The extension is expected to cover a third of the plant’s energy needs and to reduce the plant’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 3,000 metric tonnes annually.
Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration, Benali welcomed the initiative, saying that it would contribute to the adoption of green energy in Morocco, adding that the project is in line with Morocco’s green energy strategy.
On his part, Safran’s President Vincent Caro said his company is committed to sustainable development, noting that the group has set a goal of reducing its CO2 emissions by 30% by 2025 compared with 2018, and by 50% by 2030.
“At our Casablanca site, we are working with the Moroccan government to increase the share of renewable energy in the site’s consumption,” Caro said.
Caro said he felt proud of the new installation he also mentioned the power station is “one of the largest photovoltaic panel plants on an industrial site in Morocco, and the first on an aeronautical site in the country.”
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