AfDB announces over US$300 million for renewables in Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced that it has approved two financing packages for renewable projects in Morocco and Côte d'Ivoire.

AfDB will loan US$265 million to the Noor Midelt I and II projects, which are located in the Middle Atlas mountain range of Morocco. These projects will feature cutting-edge hybrid solar-generating technology, which combines concentrated thermal power and solar photovoltaic (PV) to create a 24-hour power supply from the sun. 

Each plant will have 150-190 MW concentrated solar power (CSP) capacity and a minimum of 5 hours of thermal storage. The envisaged installed capacity of the PV component could reach approximately 150-210 MW, making the total capacity of each of the proposed plants 300-400 MW and the total capacity of this first phase 600-800 MW.

The total investment in the public-private partnership (PPP) projects amounts to EUR2.05 billion (US$1.74 billion).

The solar plants will be connected to the national grid, and will guarantee electricity supplies to more than two million Moroccans and significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The project will significantly contribute to Morocco’s achievement of its Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, including its goal of producing 42% of electrical power from renewable energy by 2020, and 52% (20% from solar) by 2030.

Alongside this, the AfDB announced that it will provide financing for the 44 MW Singrobo-Ahouaty hydropower project in Côte d’Ivoire. It will lend approximately $US59 million to the project.

The project involves the design, construction and operation of a 44 MW hydropower plant on the Bandama River, 148km north of the capital city, Abidjan. It also includes the construction of a 4km road. The project owner, Ivoire Hydro Energy, was created especially for the project in 2012. The company signed a concession agreement with the government of Côte d’Ivoire in December 2013.

The plant will contribute significantly to meeting the government's target of producing 42% of the country's energy through renewable sources by 2030. Renewable sources currently produce 15% of Côte d’Ivoire's energy. It will also help the country meet the growing demand for power, which is projected to grow by 8-9% annually. To meet rising domestic and regional demand, Côte d’Ivoire plans to significantly raise its generation capacity, including hydropower.

The plant is expected to be fully operational by 2021.

Both the Noor Midelt and Singrobo-Ahouaty projects are in line with AfDB's New Deal on Energy for Africa initiative, whose goal is to achieve universal access to energy in Africa by 2025. In 2017 alone, deals by AfDB will support 1.4 GW of new renewables capacity in Africa.