World Bank loans Morocco $265m to build hydropower project

The World Bank will loan $265 million to develop a hydropower storage project in Morocco as part of the North African nation’s renewable energy push.

The facility combines financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, concessional financing from the Clean Technology Fund and a grant from the Livable Planet Fund, the World Bank said in a statement.

The hydropower storage project in northern Morocco will serve as a giant rechargeable battery for the national electricity grid.

The 300-megawatt facility will enable Morocco to integrate at least 1 gigawatt of additional solar and wind energy into its national grid.

The facility will replace almost 3 terawatt hours of electricity currently generated from fossil fuels each year, avoiding an estimated 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

The project is expected to generate 820 direct jobs annually during construction, the statement said.

The project is co-financed by the African Development Bank and implemented by Office National de l’Électricité et de l’Eau potable, Morocco’s state-owned utility provider.

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