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Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) has launched a tender to seek Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractors for its Noor Atlas solar program. The call for expression of interest seeks to construct several solar photovoltaic plants across several regions in Africa.
The bid opening for the solar program is scheduled for 30 October of this year. The development of these power plants will be done in two separate lots. The first lot will include the EPC works of five solar plants whereas the second one includes the construction of two solar parks.
The first lot includes Ain Beni Mathar solar plant in the Oriental region and Enjil solar plant in the Fez-Meknes region with 42 MW capacity each, Boundib power plant in the Drâa-Tafilalet region, and Ouatat el Hajpower plant in Fez-Meknes region with 36 MW each, and Bouonane solar plant in the Oriental region with the capacity of 30 MW.
The second lot includes two solar power plants in Tan-Tan in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region and Tata in the Souss-Massa region, where both the plants will have an individual capacity of 36 MW. Thus the combined capacity of the solar photovoltaic plants under the Noor Atlas program is set at nearly 260 MW.
According to a statement from Masen, “ Law 38-16 provides for the transfer of the renewable assets of the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) to MASEN. It is within this framework, and following the pre-qualification phase organized by Onee, MASEN’s historical partner, that the call for tenders by MASEN will enable the selection of the constructor(s) (EPC) from among the eight pre-qualified companies/consortiums.”
The Noor Atlas solar project requires funding of $277 million. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the German Development Bank KfW are going to co-finance the photovoltaic project.
Currently, Morocco has around 50 renewable energy projects in operation which a combined capacity of nearly 4109 MW. Renewable energy accounts for 35% of the country’s energy generation, with 800 MW of installed solar capacity. The Noor Atlas solar program is part of Morocco’s goal to source 52% of its total energy from renewable sources.