SeeNews Renewables
by Mariyana Yaneva
Moroccan electricity and water utility company (ONEE) has launched a tender for pre-qualification of solar power projects with a total installed capacity of 75 MW.
Through the tender ONEE aims to select companies for the construction, operation and maintenance of photovoltaic (PV) power plants under its Noor Tafilet programme, Moroccan daily L’Economiste reported on Tuesday. The deadline for submitting turn-key proposals is set for September 4, 2015 while grid-connection of the power plants is planned for the end of 2016 or start of 2017.
Noor Tafilalet will comprise three solar power plants of 25 MW each, sited near the towns of Zagora, Erfoud and Missour in the southeastern part of the country. At a later stage, a fourth solar power plant may be built in the region, increasing the total capacity of the programme to 100 MW.
The PV power plants will help address the voltage drops and regular outages that currently affect the impoverished areas of South-Eastern Morocco, ONEE noted.
The utility company has already secured financing for the programme from the World Bank. The latter will extend a USD-125-million (EUR 114.5m) loan to ONEE, through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and another USD-23.95-million loan through the Clean Technology Fund.
ONEE has ambitions to build solar power plants with a total capacity of 400 MW in three phases. Besides Noor Tafilalet, the utility company is planning Noor Atlas — a 200-MW solar power complex comprising a number of PV plants of 10 MW to 30 MW each. The third phase will have two to four PV plants with a combined capacity of 100 MW-125 MW.
Morocco’s national energy strategy is targeting to raise the share of renewable energy to 42% of the total installed capacity in the country by 2020, with solar, wind and hydro each contributing 14%.
Mariyana is a founding member of the SeeNews Renewables team. With eight years of professional experience in renewable energy she has built strong expertise in the wind industry and Eastern Europe markets.
