The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved Friday two projects totaling US$248.95 million to support Morocco’s national health strategy and to promote clean energy and energy efficiency. In the health sector, the investment will finance increased access to and improved quality of public services for the benefit of poor and rural populations in disadvantaged regions. The investment in the energy sector will support Morocco’s ongoing efforts to reduce its dependency on imported fossil fuels.

 

The Clean and Efficient Energy Project will be co-financed by a US$125 million World Bank loan and a US$23.95 million loan from the Clean Technology Fund. It will support Morocco’s State-owned electricity and water company (ONEE) to develop its first set of three mid-size decentralized solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. With a total capacity of 75 MW, the plants are part of the country’s strategy to achieve 14% of installed capacity from solar energy by 2020. The project is also expected to have important local benefits for the impoverished areas of South-Eastern Morocco where the plants will be built. The new plants will help address the voltage drops and regular outages that currently affect 120,000 people in the region. By providing sufficient power with adequate quality, the solar plants will contribute to unlocking the economic potential of the area for projects in agriculture, tourism and the local crafts industry.

 

“The project will finance the installation of time-of-use meters, allowing over 292,000 people to take advantage of lower electricity costs during periods of the day with low electricity demand,” said Charles Cormier, World Bank Energy Practice Manager for the Middle East and North Africa. “Equally important, the project will support the implementation of a pioneering Revenue Protection Program to improve ONEE’s financial revenues by installing smart-meters and advanced metering infrastructure for the company’s largest customers. The project is also expected to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emission by 1.95 million tons of CO2 over its total lifetime.”