Morocco: Third EIB loan for Ouarzazate solar scheme

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is appraising a E150m ($204m) loan to the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) for the third phase of the Ouarzazate solar power complex. The loan, under appraisal since 18 June, will help fund the construction and operation of a 150MW concentrated solar power plant with a total cost of E850m. The third phase will consist of a tower plant with three hours’ solar energy storage capacity. The loan is the EIB’s third for the project. Last December, the EIB approved a E250m loan to Masen for the construction and operation of a 200MW concentrated solar power parabolic plant, representing the second phase, whose total cost is estimated at E1.06bn.