Emirati independent power producer (IPP) Amea Power and its partner GreenPower Morocco (GPM) have begun the construction works on a solar photovoltaic plant in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (TTA) region of Morocco. The future solar plant will have a capacity of 34 MWp and will supply power to a local water utility’s facilities.
The solar power plant is being developed by GreenPower Morocco 1 (GPM1), a special purpose vehicle owned by Amea Power and GPM Holding. The plant construction site was recently launched in the Hjar Nahal municipality in the TTA region.
The GPM1 solar facility will include 91,000+ photovoltaic panels along with solar trackers to increase the production capacity. When operational, the plant will produce annual solar energy of more than 66 GWh, enough to provide electricity to nearly 19,000 households per year.
The solar power plant is financed by the local commercial bank Attijariwafa to the tune of 370 Moroccan Dirhams ($37 million). The electricity produced from the PV plant will be delivered to local drinking water and electricity provider, Amendis, the subsidiary of Veolia Morocco, under a long-term power purchase agreement.
The renewable energy produced from the PV plant would enable the local subsidiary of Veolia to reduce its carbon dioxide and oil emissions by 30,000 tons and 5,000 tons per year, respectively. The solar project further intends to improve Morocco’s electrical energy production capacity from renewable sources and lower the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.
At the project launching, Jalal Benhayoun, Director General of the Regional Investment Center of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (CRI-TTA), said the solar power plant is the result of the combined efforts of various actors at the central as well as local levels, with an aim to accelerate the energy and economic transition to a low-carbon model.
The GPM1 plant is one of many concessions obtained by Amea Power in Morocco. The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) has also recently awarded the IPP with the construction of two solar PV plants with a combined capacity of 72 MWp. The solar farms will be built in the regions of Souss-Massa and Fez-Meknes, under the Noor II CSP program.
, said the solar power plant is the result of the combined efforts of various actors at the central as well as local levels, with an aim to accelerate the energy and economic transition to a low-carbon model.){kind=link}