Intermediate 
The Moroccan city of Ouarzazate is used to big productions. It is on the edge of the Sahara Desert and at the centre of the North African countrys Ouallywood  lm industry, where scenes from movies such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, The Living Daylights and even Game of Thrones were  lmed.
Now the city, known as the door of the desert, is the centre for a complex of four linked solar mega- plants, which, together with hydro and wind, will help provide nearly half of Moroccos electricity from renewable energy by 2020. The project is a key part of Moroccos ambitions to use its deserts to become a global solar superpower.
When the full complex is complete, it will be the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world. The  rst phase, called Noor 1, will be ready in November 2015. The mirror technology it uses is less widespread and more expensive than the photovoltaic panels that you can see on roofs all over the world. But it will have the advantage of being able to continue producing power even after the sun goes down.
The potential for solar power from the desert has been known for decades. In the days after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, the German particle physicist Gerhard Knies calculated that the worlds deserts receive enough energy in a few hours to provide power for all the people in the world for a whole year. But the challenge is to capture that energy and take it to where it is needed.
As engineers  nish Noor 1, its 500,000 moon-shaped solar mirrors glitter in the desert. The 800 rows follow the sun across the sky, whirring quietly every few minutes.
When they are  nished, the four plants at Ouarzazate will need a space as big as Moroccos capital city, Rabat, and generate 580 mega-watts of electricity, enough to power a million homes.
Moroccos environment minister, Hakima el-Haite, believes that solar energy could have the same effects on the region this century that oil production had in the last century. But the $9bn project was triggered by more immediate concerns, she said.
We import 94% of our energy as fossil fuels from other countries and that has big consequences for our state budget, el-Haite told the Guardian. So, when we heard about the possibilities of solar energy, we thought, Why not?
Solar energy will make up a third of Moroccos renewable energy supply by 2020. Wind and hydro will make up the other two-thirds.
We are very proud of this project, el-Haite said. I think it is the most important solar plant in the world.
Technicians say that the Noor 2 and 3 plants, due to open in 2017, will store energy for up to eight hours  this gives the possibility of 24/7 solar energy in the Sahara and the surrounding region.
The  rst part of the project is nearly completed and Morocco has bigger international ambitions. We are already involved in transportation lines to cover the full south of Morocco and Mauritania, says Ahmed Baroudi, manager of Societe dInvestissements Energetiques, the national renewable energy investment  rm. But he says the projects effects will go further  even as far as the Middle East.
Exporting solar energy could have stabilizing effects within and between countries, according to the Moroccan solar energy agency (Masen). Morocco is making plans with Tunisia and energy exports northwards across the Mediterranean are a key goal.
We believe that its possible to export energy to Europe but,  rst, we have to build the interconnectors which dont yet exist, said Maha el-Kadiri, a Masen spokeswoman.
In the meantime, Morocco is focused on using solar to meet its own needs. This could one day include water desalination, which is very useful in a country that is having more and more droughts as the climate warms.
About $9bn has been invested in the Noor Complex, much of it from international institutions such as the European Investment Bank and World Bank and supported by Moroccan government guarantees. Energy subsidies from Moroccos King Mohammed VI have stopped the cost from being transferred to normal people.
Over a thousand, mostly Moroccan, workers are still racing to  x electric wires, take down scaffolding and insulate steel pipelines. They hurry past in yellow and orange safety vests, working 12-hour shifts beneath the Atlas mountains. They wear hard hats, safety shoes and ear plugs.
Weve done the construction and, now, we will see how these projects look when they start, says Hajar Lakhael, a 25-year-old environment and security manager from Meknes. It is exactly like the preparation for a grand performance.
A global audience will be watching with interest.