€44m will make 50MW Koudia Al Baida wind farm in Morocco the first to be repowered, with a 100MW outcome.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting Morocco in its transition to a low-carbon economy by co-financing the repowering of the Koudia Al Baida wind farm in the north of the country.
The EBRD will provide up to €44m in loans to the Koudia Al Baida Energy Company, owned by the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) and EDF Renewables. An additional €4.5m will be issued by the Climate Technology Fund.
The investment in Koudia Al Baida will repower the existing 50MW wind farm located in the Tlat Taghramt region near Tangier, increasing its capacity to 100MW.
Koudia Al Baida wind farm is the oldest utility-scale wind farm in Africa and was Morocco’s first renewable independent power producer. The new project will see it reduce the country’s CO2 emissions by 300,000 tonnes per year.
Managing director of the EBRD’s sustainable infrastructure group, Nandita Parshad said: “This project demonstrates the long-term opportunity for renewables to play an important role in the decarbonisation and increased competitiveness of Morocco’s economy. We at the EBRD are very pleased to be actively contributing to the scaling up of Morocco’s renewables together with MASEN, the Office National de l’Electricité, électrification rurale (ONEE) and all the key stakeholders.”
The loan is part of a senior debt provided by a group of international and Moroccan banks: Société Générale, Attijariwafa Bank, Banque Centrale Populaire and Bank of Africa.
