See News Renewables
by Mariyana Yaneva
ONEE Opens Bids For 75 MW Solar Project In Morocco, Tafilet solar power, Noor Tafilalet, Zagora, Erfoud, Missour, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
Moroccan electricity and water utility company (ONEE) on Friday opened the offers filed in the tender it announced for the 75 MW Noor Tafilet solar power project.
A total of 49 companies and consortia from 19 countries have taken part in the pre-qualification tender launched in July.
By design, 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 total cost for the construction of the solar power project is estimated by ONEE at USD 158 million (EUR 142m). The utility company has already secured most of the funds from the World Bank. The latter will extend a USD-125-million loan to ONEE, through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and another USD-23.95-million loan through the Clean Technology Fund.
The commissioning of Noor Tafilalet has been scheduled for 2016.
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 eight PV plants. 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%.
(USD 1 = EUR 0.896)
by Mariyana Yaneva
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.
