Moroccan Solar agency (MASEN) has chosen Saudi Arabian power engineering company ACWA Power and China’s Chint group to establish three solar plants with a joint capacity of 170MW as part of the NOOR PV I project in Morocco.
This is the first solar PV phase of the NOOR Solar Plan, which has already seen three major concentrated solar power (CSP) projects in Quarzazate
With ACWA Power leading and Chint delivering technical support, the two companies will design, finance, build, manage, and maintain the NOOR PV I program, having been chosen through an international call for bids.
MASEN said the tariff will be placed at US$0.046.
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ACWA Power has won a variety of capacities in the Middle East over the past 18 months mostly with world –beating solar tariffs.
MASEN also signed contracts with KfW bank for US $64 M to aid funding the project. The three projects will also be funded by the first green bonds in Morocco, set to be issued by MASEN for a figure of US $ 114 M and countersigned by Al Barid Bank, Attijariwafa Bank, the SCR, and the CMR.
The three intended PV plants include:
- NOOR Ouarzazate IV, 70MW
- NOOR Laayoune, 80MW
- NOOR Boujdour, 20MW
MASEN president Mustapha Bakkoury said: “With these three solar plants, MASEN goes on to enlarge its portfolio of multi-technology projects, constantly with the aim of taking action in the best means possible to the needs of our client and partner, ONEE (the National Agency for Electricity and Drinking Water).
This is also the consolidation of long-standing partnerships, both with the KfW, which is funding the fourth and final phase of the Ouarzazate complex, and with ACWA Power, and it reassures us that we will develop projects meeting international standards at Ouarzazate, Laayoune, and Boujdour.”
All projects are estimated to be done by 2019. They are part of the nation’s wider Solar Energy Programme which has an motivated goal of attaining 2GW of solar energy capacity by 2020.
ACWA Power currently launched a new division that will compile its present renewable-energy portfolio
