Also from Wikipedia: they have a contract to sell the power at 19¢/kWh. For reference, coal and wind in the U.S. sell for more like 3¢.
It's great to see the world embrace clean energy, but the money in this project seems nuts to me.
1) They're very leery of whatever's Russia up to, and much of their NatGas comes from there. Any alternative energy is good energy.
2) It shores up the economy in a relatively stable part of northern Africa that'd be a prime location for people wanting to immigrate to spain. More refugees are not a good plan.
3) It helps Europe to hit Carbon reduction targets without having to deal with the NIMBY population.
Or at least it was a strategic thing. Reading some more, European investors pulled out, and it's the Africa Development Bank now. Maybe the money is too nuts even with strategic goals in mind.
We're never going to succeed if we can't get the cost close to fossil fuels.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_China
Apple is building a couple hundred megawatts in China:
http://fortune.com/2015/10/22/apple-china-solar/
The problem is we need an awful lot more without breaking the bank.
“They had a vision to promote renewables at a time when oil prices were high"
Guessing that's why Europe backed out.