Saudi international energy developer ACWA Power has officially won the bid for the Noor Midelt II and III integrated solar and energy storage project in Morocco. Each project will construct a 400 MW photovoltaic power generation system and a 602 MWh battery energy storage device, which will be promoted in a BOO (Build Own Operate) mode. A 30-year power purchase agreement has been signed with the Moroccan Sustainable Energy Agency (MASEN). The total investment of the two projects is about 3.5 billion US dollars, and the expected annual power generation after completion is 2.4 TWh. It will become the core project for Morocco to achieve its 2030 target of 3 GW of solar energy and promote ACWA Power's clean energy installed capacity in Africa to exceed 6 GW.

The project is located in the Midelt Plateau in the middle of the Atlas Mountains, where the average altitude is more than 1500 meters and the annual sunshine hours are more than 3200 hours. It is a key area for Morocco to build a "desert sun belt" strategy. The Noor Midelt II and III projects are located on the east and west sides of Midelt town, with a total area of approximately 2600 hectares and a total photovoltaic installed capacity of 800 MW. The energy storage system adopts lithium iron phosphate battery technology, with a capacity of 602 MWh per station, supporting 2-hour peak shaving or 4-hour peak shaving and valley filling operation. Its flexible operation strategy will be jointly optimized by ACWA Power and the Moroccan power grid dispatch center.

Although the specific electricity price for the 30-year PPA has not been disclosed, industry analysis suggests that it falls within the range of 4.5 to 5 cents per kilowatt hour, which is a highly competitive global level for solar storage electricity prices. In terms of financing, ACWA Power has partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF to form a syndicated financing institution. The first phase of a $600 million green loan is expected to be in place by the fourth quarter of 2025. In terms of equipment procurement, the project will use Longi Green Energy photovoltaic modules and Ningde Times energy storage batteries, and will be constructed in conjunction with a local EPC consortium. The first batch of grid connection is planned to be achieved in the second quarter of 2027.

Throughout their entire lifecycle, these two projects are expected to achieve a carbon reduction of 24 million tons, equivalent to 12% of Morocco's total annual emissions, and will create approximately 3000 job opportunities during the construction phase. After being put into operation, they will continue to provide approximately 200 operation and maintenance positions.

Noor Midelt II&III is an important component of Morocco's Noor solar energy program. Previously, the Noor Ouarzazate solar thermal and photovoltaic project had achieved 580 MW of installed capacity, while the Midelt series project has a total planned capacity of 1.2 GW of photovoltaics and 1.8 GWh of energy storage, and is expected to be fully operational by 2028. At that time, the total installed capacity of solar energy in Morocco will exceed 5 GW, achieving the country's original goal of reaching 3 GW by 2030 ahead of schedule.

Marco Arcelli, CEO of ACWA Power, pointed out that the North African region has the world's best lighting and land resources, coupled with green finance and policy support, and is becoming a key link in the company's Middle East Africa strategic corridor. In the next five years, ACWA Power plans to invest an additional $5 billion in Morocco, focusing on the layout of green hydrogen, seawater desalination, and energy storage systems, creating integrated demonstration projects for photovoltaic hydrogen storage, and consolidating its leading position in the North African clean energy market.

ACWA Power has broken the record for Moroccan solar storage projects with an 800 MW photovoltaic and 1.2 GWh energy storage scale. Through a 30-year long-term agreement, it has secured stable returns and relied on the Chinese supply chain and multilateral financial institutions to jointly ensure project implementation. This project not only provides sustainable and affordable green electricity for Morocco, but also has the potential to become a model for Africa's energy transition, marking the official large-scale promotion of the high proportion renewable energy extended storage model in emerging markets. (This article is from the official website of Jian Dao www.seetao.com. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Jian Dao website+original link when reprinting.) Jian Dao website new energy column editor/Yang Beihua