MOROCCO -Moroccan electric and water utility ONEE has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a consortium formed by Italy’s Enel Green Power and Moroccan energy company Nareva Holding related to the 270-MW Jbel Lahdid wind farm that the duo will build in the North African kingdom.
ONEE said in a statement that the wind project would mobilise an investment of around MAD 2.8 billion (US4317.1m).
The Jbel Lahdid wind farm will be erected at a site located some 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) north-east of the port city of Essaouira. The commissioning process will be gradual and is scheduled to start from the first half of 2023, ONEE said.
The project is part of a 850-MW wind power tender launched by ONEE in 2016. The Enel Green Power-Nareva consortium, alongside their technology partner Siemens Wind Power, now Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA, secured the rights and 20-year PPAs for five projects.
Besides Jbel Lahdid, the consortium is promoting Midelt, Tiskrad, Tanger and Boujdour wind projects. Of the five, only the 210-MW Midelt wind farm is in operation, while Boujdour is currently under construction.
The 850-MW wind programme is an important contribution to Morocco’s energy goals, which is to have renewables make up 52% of the country’s total installed capacity by 2030, ONEE added.
The US$314m Jbel Lahdid wind farm is the third installation of Morocco’s wind power programme, after the Midelt (180MW) and Boujdour (300MW) wind farms which are currently under construction. The last two wind farms of the Programme will be located in Tiskrad, in the province of Tarfaya (100MW) and Tangier II in the province of Fahs Anjra (70MW).
Morocco’s wind power programme is divided into two components. The first involves the construction of a 150MW wind farm in Taza. The second component will enable 850MW of electricity to be supplied to Morocco’s national electricity network.
It is being developed by the Moroccan electricity company Nareva and Enel Green Power. The Italian-Moroccan consortium has been awarded the right to design, finance, build, operate and manage the wind farm following a call for tenders in 2016.
The Integrated Wind Energy Programme should make it possible to avoid the emissions of about 2.38 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year, equivalent to the annual emissions of a city the size of Casablanca.
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