This is a good place to start as we look at an "unprecedented" investment in solar for parts of the world many times more closely aligned with the fossil fuel business.
More Than 1 GW of CSP Headed for MENA
The US $7.6 billion Climate Investment Funds (CIF) gave the go-ahead to Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia to proceed with an updated version of a sweeping plan to bring an unprecedented 1120 megawatts (MW) of energy from concentrated solar power (CSP) to the region. The plan will receive US $660 million from the CIF’s Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and is expected to leverage nearly US $5 billion from other donors and private financing.
The plan, first endorsed by the CIF in 2009, was reviewed by each country to reflect the political and economic conditions in the region and to build on lessons learned from the plan’s first project now underway — the 60 MW Ouarzazate I plant in Morocco.
The revised plan realigns projects in the pipeline based on each country’s reassessed needs; focuses on well-performing projects as a measure of the plan’s success; and expands the plan to include concentrated solar photovoltaic (CPV) technologies and business models including public sector, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and independent power producers (IPPs).
The original plan projected a total of 895 MW of power, but with the revision the region now expects to achieve 1.12 GW, making it the most ambitious CSP program in the world. The countries have also agreed to request a smaller funding envelope from the original US $750 million to US $660 million including currently funded projects.
CTF allocations in the revised plan are:
- Morocco: CTF US$218M for 300 MW (Ouarzazate II)
- Egypt: CTF US$123M for 100 MW (Kom Ombo)
- Tunisia: CTF US$62M for 50 MW (Akarit) (may increase to 100)
- Jordan: CTF US$50M for up to 100 MW including CPV
- Technical assistance: CTF US$10M
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