The World Bank Group has approved $265m in financing for the 300MW Ifahsa pumped storage hydropower project in northern Morocco.
Approved by the World Bank’s Board of Directors on 1 July, the project near Chefchaouen is intended to support the integration of additional renewable generation into Morocco’s electricity system.
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According to the World Bank, the facility will enable the addition of at least 1GW of solar and wind capacity to the national grid and help mobilise around $1bn in private investment.
The project is expected to displace approximately three terawatt-hours of fossil fuel generation annually, avoiding an estimated 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
Construction of the scheme is expected to create around 820 direct jobs annually, with additional employment linked to the renewable energy capacity enabled by the project.
The financing package comprises lending from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, concessional funding from the Clean Technology Fund and a grant from the Livable Planet Fund.
The project is being co-financed by the African Development Bank and will be implemented by Morocco’s Office National de l’Électricité et de l’Eau potable (ONEE).
Ahmadou Moustapha Ndiaye, division director for the Maghreb and Malta at the World Bank, said: “The Ifahsa project exemplifies the kind of transformative partnerships we strive to build – bringing together multilateral institutions and national authorities, mobilising capital, and investing in infrastructure that delivers environmental, social and economic dividends.
“We are honoured to stand alongside ONEE with the African Development Bank in supporting what is, to date, one of Morocco’s most ambitious clean energy endeavours.”
Earlier this week it was announced that the World Bank had approved the second phase of financing for the Rogun hydropower project in Tajikistan.
