Relying on a favorable develoment framework, Masen says that prices for the the Midelt PV-CSP hybrid are to drop as bidders focus on proposing the best tariff per kilowatt-hour. A flexible development framework is exected to help decrease prices for Midelt PV-CSP hybrid in Morocco, reports Solar Paces quoting an official at the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen). The project is expected to diversify its funding supplies to meet the global support schemes, says the same source, describing the complex managed by Masen. Three groups have answered the tender launched in December by Masen, namely ACWA Power, Engie SA and EDF Energies Nouvelles. They are expected to build the Noor Midelt solar power complex, which is consisting of two 400-megawatt facilities. Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power International and the two French companies will have to manage the «engineering, procurement and construction» of the facility, Obaid Amrane, a member of the Masen's management board said in January. To meet the needs of the tree pioneering companies Morocco has implemented a «plug and play» strategy, using procurement used for earlier CSP tenders. Optimizing project costs «This framework allows developers to focus on optimizing project costs and should result in a lower tariff for Noor Midelt than on previous projects», Meryem Lakhssassi, Sustainable Development Officer, Masen, told the MENA New Energy 2018 conference in Dubai on April 24. «Morocco's CSP tariff prices have already dropped sharply, from 1.62 for the Noor I project to 1.36 for Noor II… We hope [the tariff] will continue to decrease, that is the objective». Meryem Lakhssassi To put it in other words, Masen which sells power to the Moroccan state, provides «lending resources and minority shareholder equity to the projects». It also manages everything related to «land acquisition and social issues and carries out a range of studies to reduce development risk, including geotechnical, hydrological and environmental impact studies», says the same source. This strategy helps bidders «focus on proposing the best tariff per kilowatt-hour and the best technical configuration», said Lakhssassi. «All these elements are in favor of efficiency, in terms of timing and transaction», she added. The project which is part of the Noor Solar Plan, aiming to produce a total capacity of 2,000 MW and whose first phase was already launched in Ouarzazate, is to include two hybrid concentrated solar power and photovoltaic plants, explained Helioscsp, a solar thermal energy online portal. The Nour Midelt solar plant is to be built on a 3,000 hectares and 25 kilometers area. For the record, the Kingdom is trying to produce 40% of its electricity from renewables relying on projects similar to the Nour complex.
