Luxembourg-headquartered European Investment Bank (EIB) has tendered a contract covering the feasibility study of Morocco's first offshore wind project off the coast of Essaouira.

EIB, which is supporting the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen) in the project, expects to receive bids from technical and engineering consultants for the contract by 30 January 2025.

The selected consultant will undertake the project's feasibility and complementary studies and environmental and social impact assessment. 

The duration of the contract is 29 months, with the possibility of one or more extensions, consisting of a maximum of 14 additional months for a maximum period of 43 months in total, said EIB.

The value of the contract is €2m, with the possibility of one or more budget increases for additional services, of a maximum amount of €3m, if additional eligible funds are available, the bank added.

Recent studies indicate Morocco has a high potential to exploit offshore wind, particularly along its Atlantic coast where wind speed is high and where the shallow waters are suitable for fixed-bottom offshore wind.

Renewable target

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

It 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.

Masen tendered contracts to develop and operate the Noor Midelt 2 and Noor Midelt 3 solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage system (bess) projects this year

The Noor Midelt 2 solar independent power project (IPP) consists of a 400MW solar PV power plant with battery storage of two hours.

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.

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

The client has moved the last day for bid submissions from 29 November to 12 December, according to a source close to the projects.