Morocco expects to invest $9b in solar energy by 2020, reports Trade Arabia. The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) hopes to rapidly expand production in renewables – to reach 52% of Morocco’s energy needs by 2030. Morocco is currently the Middle East’s largest importer of energy – requiring imports for 97% of domestic needs.

Experts at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi believe Morocco’s renewables push represents a promising investment opportunity. Morocco’s key solar program Noor – projected to be the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant – is expected to generate 500MW and power 1.1m homes by 2018, the World Bank predicts.

However, progress on the Noor project has seen delays, as the inauguration of the first stage of the project has been postponed unexpectedly, The Guardian reports.