Morocco: AfDB funding for Ouarzazate

The African Development Bank (AfDB) board has approved a loan of €100m ($133m) for phase II of the Ouarzazate solar complex, as well as $119m from the Clean Technology Fund that was already announced by the World Bank. Phase II involves the construction of two separate power plants; 150-200MW Noor II, a parabolic trough concentrated solar power (CSP) facility, and 100-150MW Noor III, a CSP tower. The project will be developed as a public-private partnership between the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) and a private developer for each power plant. The project company will build and operate the plants for 25 years.