Rabat - MENA Herald: Masen, a leading force for renewable energy in the Middle East region, announced the selection of Acwa Power (leader) and Chint (technical member) as the companies that will design, finance, construct, operate, and maintain the NOOR PV I program.
The combined rate per kilowatt hour for the NOOR PV I program comes to 4.22 Eurocents, one of the lowest on a global scale.
After developing plants with CSP technology for the Noor Ouarzazate I, Noor Ouarzazate II, and Noor Ouarzazate III projects, Masen is pursuing the development of the first photovoltaic phase of the Noor solar plan (NOOR PV I Program) with a combined capacity of approximately 170 MW from three solar plants:
NOOR Ouarzazate IV, with a maximum capacity of 70 MW, located in the Masen complex, NOOR Ouarzazate
NOOR Laayoune, with a maximum capacity of 80 MW
NOOR Boujdour, with a maximum capacity of 20 MW
During the signing ceremony, which took place today in the presence of His Excellency Gerd Mueller, Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as Mr. Mohamed Boussaid, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, Masen President Mr. Mustapha Bakkoury stated:
"With these three solar plants, Masen continues to expand its portfolio of multi-technology projects, always with the goal of responding in the best way possible to the needs of our client and partner, ONEE [the National Agency for Electricity and Drinking Water]. This is also the consolidation of long-standing partnerships, both with the KfW, which is financing the 4th and last phase of the Ouarzazate complex, and with Acwa Power, and it assures us that we will develop projects meeting international standards at Ouarzazate, Laayoune, and Boujdour."
Developing innovative projects
The three projects are developed by Masen in the framework of a three-part Independent Power Production (IPP) plan with ONEE and that the consortium was selected through an international call for proposals. The innovative institutional development adopted by Masen allows for optimal risk alignment and for reduced production costs.
Financing secured from the KfW along with green bonds issued by Masen
The unique legal and financial structuring of Masen's projects with the support of the state ensures the best price per kWh. Masen has signed the financing contract with the KfW Bankengruppe for the development of the NOOR Ouarzazate IV project for a sum of sixty million euros (60 MEUR).
This financing is part of the ongoing support provided by the KfW, one of Masen's strategic partners, and the German authorities, expressing their confidence in the projects developed by Masen.
His Excellency Gerd Mueller, Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, said, "We share Morocco's forward-looking vision regarding the development of renewable energy and are impressed by the projects developed by Masen, which we are happy and proud to have supported from day one."
Its solar projects in Laayoune and Boujdour, as well as the capital for NOOR Ouarzazate IV, will be financed by the first green bonds in Morocco, which will be issued by Masen for a sum of 1,150 million MAD (Moroccan dirhams) (106 million euros) and underwritten by Al Barid Bank, Attijariwafa Bank, the CMR [Caisse Marocaine de Retraite], and the SCR [Société Centrale de Réassurance].