Morocco is set to construct tallest wind tower in the African continent, measuring 144 metres high.
Spanish technology signed a deal with Nabrawind for the development. The company’s self-erecting steel Nabralift design, which also features a lightweight piled-in foundation, will support a 3.6MW Siemens Gamesa turbine with a hub height of 144 metres.
“This tower allows the installation of a full wind turbine – tower, nacelle, rotor – without using large-size cranes regardless of the final hub-height. The Self-erecting System (SES) is conceived to install the lowermost sections of the tower at the last part of the assembly process. For this purpose, the SES is able to hoist the WTG in intermediate stages and install tower sections under it,” said the company.
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Tallest wind tower in the Africa
Construction of the tower will use 80m3 of concrete and 10 tonnes of steel, as compared to the 500m3 of concrete and 60 tonnes of steel used by ‘gravitational’ designs. Works will begin this summer, with the remainder of the installation taking place “at the end of this year and the beginning of the next.
To-date the tallest wind turbine in Africa is in South Africa, a 115-meter tower installed by Siemens Gamesa. The world’s record-holder is currently a 178-metre tower installed in Germany.
Morocco, which is on track to become a world leader in renewable energies. Currently, it is importing over 90% of its fuel needs and spends 10-12% of its gross domestic product on energy imports. The North African country plans to generate 42% of its energy from renewables by 2020, with one-third coming from solar, wind and hydropower.
As part of a low-carbon economy endeavor, Morocco has set an ambitious program seeking to increase the contribution of renewable energies in the national energy mix to 52 pc in 2030.
