São Paulo – The French Development Agency (AFD) decided last week to grant financing of 100.3 million euros (US$ 143.654 million, at current exchange rates) for the construction of a solar energy plant in the city of Ourzazate, in Morocco. According to Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP), the financing is 100 million euros (US$ 143.224 million) and the remaining 300,000 euros (US$ 429,600) will be subsidised.
The use of credit was approved and will be directed to the Moroccan Solar Energy Agency in charge of putting into practice the country’s solar plan. The Moroccan solar plan has as its target the production of 2,000 megawatts of electricity from the sun up to 2020.
Currently, Morocco’s dependence on foreign energy is 97%, which results in trade balance problems. In counterpart, the country has abundant solar resources due to its desert areas, appropriate for the development of solar plants. Electricity should be used locally and also exported to Europe.
Quarzazate program will be developed in several phases. The first includes the installation of solar parabolic cylinders, with a capacity for between 125 megawatts and 160 megawatts. Replacement of fuel use, with the plant, will economize US$ 38.5 million a year and the country will avoid emissions of 270,000 tonnes of carbon.
*Translated by Mark Ament. With information by Maghreb Arabe Presse
