Morocco, which has planned some ambitious renewable energy projects to take advantage of its geographical location, has awarded a contract for the development of two solar power projects to AMEA Power – a UAE energy company.
The two solar projects will be part of the first phase of Noor PV II Programme. This programme will feature multiple sites of solar PV development. The total capacity of the Noor PV II Programme will be 330 MW.
The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen) and the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development had issued a large international tender under which AMEA Power was awarded the contract.
Hussain Al Nowais, Chairperson, AMEA Power said, “The Noor PV II programme supports Morocco’s target to increase its renewables share to 52 per cent by 2030.”
Specifically, AMEA Power will be responsible for the construction of two solar plants each having a capacity of 36 MW. The two sites will be located at Taroudant that lies in the Souss-Massa region, and in El Hajeb that lies in the Fes-Meknes region.
AMEA Power delves into both solar and wind energy. Presently, AMEA generates nearly 2,000 MW of renewable energy from diverse projects operational in 15 countries. AMEA Power has also planned to increase its portfolio to 5,000MW in the coming three years.
AMEA Power is also developing a solar power project of 100MW in the North African country of Tunisia.
In UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris in 2015, Morocco announced its commitment to increase the country’s renewables capacity to 52% of the total by 2030. Morocco wants to add 10 GW of renewable power by 2030. For this, the country is looking to attract an investment of about $30 billion. A notable project that has been proposed is the Xlinks Morocco UK project that envisages power exports from Morocco to the UK.
Morocco has also planned to build an LNG plant for seamless supply of power in the country.
Masdar – another Dubai based firm – is also investing in renewables in Morocco. It has recently developed a Solar Home System Project that powers about 20,000 homes in over 1,000 rural towns of Morocco. An international consortium will start the development of a solar power project of 800 MW. Masdar is also a part of this consortium.
