EDF Renewables led consortium snatches bid for Noor solar project, MASEN says

The consortium led by EDF Renewables (France) and composed of Masdar (UAE) and Green of Africa (Morocco) won the tender related to the design, funding, building, exploitation and maintenance of the 800 MW Noor Midelt I project, the Moroccan agency for sustainable energy (Masen) announced.

This announcement is part of the Noor Plan, launched by King Mohammed VI and follows the already operating 580 MW NOOR Ouarzazate solar complex, it said in a statement, adding that this project is the first phase of the new multi-technology solar complex in Midelt.

The Noor Midelt 1, one of the first hybrid plants in the world, will have a storage capacity of 5 hours using concentrated solar power (CSP) and photovoltaics (PV).

The plant's building works are slated for the fall of 2019 and infrastructure works related to Midelt Noor complex are almost finalized.

The project, worth 7.57 billion dirhams, will be financed by the KfW, the European Investment Bank, the French Development Agency, the European Commission, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the Clean Technology Fund.

The Masen-led projects aim to achieve the national goal of +52% share of renewable energy in the electric mix by 2030, it said, noting that by the end of 2018, Morocco installed 1,215 MW of wind energy, 1,770 MW in hydropower and over 700 MW in solar energy.