AMEA Power starts first construction in Morocco with partner GPM

Construction began last week of AMEA's first solar project in Morocco, a 34MW PV power plant south of Tangier, with a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement signed with power and water distributor Amendis.

AMEA Power, with its partner GPM Holding, launched construction last week of its first solar project in Morocco, a 34MW PV power plant south of Tangier, with a planned production of nearly 66GWh per year. The project company GreenPower Morocco 1 is overseeing the construction.

A 25-year Power Purchase Agreement has been signed with power and water distributor Amendis, a subsidiary of Veolia Morocco. The $37mn solar power project is financed by local Attijariwafa bank.

“This is AMEA Power’s first project to reach financial close in Morocco…(which) remains a strategic market for AMEA Power,” said the company’s chairman Hussain Al Nowais.

The project has been developed under Morocco’s Law 13-09 to encourage power production from renewable sources, allowing a PPA to be entered with a Moroccan C&I entity.

Dubai-based renewable energy developer AMEA Power, a full service IPP, currently has four projects in planning and development in Morocco. The company has more than 20 active projects in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.  

Energy & Utilities earlier reported on the company’s projects in Morocco, Tunisia, and Djibouti.

Tangier-based GPM Holding SA, aka GreenPower Morocco, installs and maintains photovoltaic solar panels, deploying a variety of premium double glass modules.

Morocco has pursued extensive solar power development since its adoption of the Noor solar programme in 2009. The country wants to reach 52% renewable energies in its energy mix by 2030.