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Riyadh-based utility developer and investor Acwa Power is leading a team that has submitted the winning bids for the contracts to develop Morocco’s latest two solar independent power projects (IPP), according to industry sources.

The Noor Midelt 2 and Noor Midelt 3 solar IPP schemes have a capacity of 400MW each with attached battery energy storage system (bess) plants.

The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen) received and opened bids for both contracts on 12 December.

Acwa Power has partnered with local firm Nareva for its proposals to develop both projects, the source said.

The other teams that have submitted bids for the contracts are:

• EDF Renouvelables (France) / Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar, UAE)
• Engie (France) / Fipar (local)

According to one of the sources, a team comprising France’s Engie and the local Fipar submitted the lowest tariff of MD0.3233 a kilowatt-hour for the Noor Midelt 2 IPP, with the energy tariff accounting for 95% and the bess tariff at 5%.

The Acwa Power team, which proposed the second-lowest tariff of MD0.3245/kWh, offered the use of bess for up to 200 cycles for free, which helped it outbid the other two teams.

The third team, comprising France’s EDF and the UAE’s Masdar, offered a levelised electricity (LCOE) cost of MD0.3398/kWh for the Noor Midelt 2 IPP contract.

Acwa Power emerged with the lowest LCOE of MD0.3652/kWh for the Noor Midelt 3 contract.

Project backgrounds

The Noor Midelt 2 IPP consists of a 400MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant with a two-hour battery storage capacity.

It replaces a previous scheme that was expected to include thermal concentrated solar power and PV solar components, similar to Noor Midelt 1, which was previously awarded to a consortium of EDF and Masdar.

Noor Midelt 3 is expected to have a solar PV capacity of up to 400MW and a bess capacity not exceeding 400 megawatt-hours (MWh).     

The Noor Midelt 2 and 3 IPP projects will be implemented according to a 30-year power-purchase agreement between Masen, the offtaker, and the project companies that will be formed for the schemes. 

According to Masen, if any international finance institutions, such as Germany’s KFW or the European Investment Bank, participate, those banks’ procurement rules will apply to the projects.

The solar and bess plants are expected to be built on a dedicated and available site that Masen will provide under a land lease or equivalent agreement.

This suggests that common infrastructure such as the water supply, roads and telecommunications services will be shared, and will be constructed “to ensure overall consistency of the solar complex and optimise benefits from a simultaneous development of the infrastructure”.   

US/India-based Synergy Consulting is the client’s financial adviser for the projects.

Clean energy target

Morocco has set a target of producing 52% of its energy from clean sources by 2030, one of the most ambitious targets in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Morocco aims to increase its renewable capacity to 10,000MW by 2030. Solar PV capacity is expected to comprise 4,500MW, with wind and hydroelectric comprising 4,200MW and 1,300MW, respectively.