Masen commences construction of €630m solar project in Morocco

Morocco-based solar energy agency Masen has commenced the construction of 160MW solar plant in the country with an investment of €630m.

The plant, located in the desert city of Ouarzazate, is a part of company’s extensive plan to launch a series of solar projects, reported the Raw Story quoting Agence France Presse.

Earlier in September 2012, a consortium led by Saudi developer ACWA Power acquired the contract to develop the plant near the desert gateway in the country.

The company has secured the funds from a group of banks: The World Bank, the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank to finance the project.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

Commenting on the developments, Masen head Mustapha Bakkoury said that the company’s project is aimed towards exploiting the natural resources to preserve the environment and sustain its development.

The two phase plan of Masen is scheduled to complete by 2020 and will have a power generation capacity of 500MW to cater to energy requirements of 1.5 million residents.

The solar project is expected to cover an area of 3,000 hectares in the desert.
Masen, meanwhile, will reportedly grant the contract for the second phase of project in 2014.

It had called for contracts in March 2013, setting a deadline of mid-April 2013.

The project is in line with country’s plan to build five solar projects to achieve power generation capacity of 2,000MW by 2020 by investing €6.9bn.