It can store solar energy in the form of heated molten salt, allowing for production of electricity into the night.

[9][8] Ouarzazate Solar Power Station (OSPS) – Phase 1, also referred to as Noor I CSP, has an installed capacity of 160 MW.

[11] The plant is a parabolic trough type with a molten salt storage for 3 hours of low-light producing capacity.

[13] The design uses wet cooling and the need to regularly clean the reflectors means that the water use is high – 1.7 million m3 per year or 4.6 liters per kWh.

[14] Water usage is more than double the water usage of a wet cooled coal power station and 23 times the water use per kWh of a dry cooled coal power station,[15] though life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of solar thermal plants show that generating comparable energy from coal typically releases around 20 times more carbon dioxide than renewable sources.

Noor 3 is a different design, the mirrors are mounted horizontally on platforms which are supported by ten metre columns.

[25] Noor III is the fifth ever built utility-scale CSP tower, but the second with energy storage, after the 125 MW gross Crescent Dunes.

In December Noor III completed a 10-day reliability test demonstrating that the project can provide continuous rated power even in the absence of sunlight.

[27] The model HE54 heliostat has 54 mirrors, each with a total reflective surface of 178.5 square metres (1,921 sq ft).