Noor Tafilalt solar project. 40 MW Erfoud power plant in operation

The National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) has just successfully completed commissioning tests of the 40 megawatt (MW) Erfoud solar photovoltaic power plant to begin industrial performance testing. This site is part of the “Noor Tafilalt” project which aims to develop three end-of-line photovoltaic plants in Zagora, Erfoud and Missour, for a total power of 120 MW.

Initially planned to be operational in 2018 as part of the 2020 strategy, this project is now part of the objective of reaching more than 52% of renewable energies in the installed electrical capacity by 2030. The overall cost of the Noor Tafilalt project amounts to 1, 05 billion dirhams, including some 379 million for the Erfoud power plant, financed by the World Bank and the Clean Technology Fund. The Erfoud plant was developed to improve the quality of service in the region, in particular to avoid voltage drops estimated at 15%, recorded in the areas located at the end of the line. The construction of this plant made it possible not only to avoid heavy investments to reinforce the 60 KV network, in particular the creation of new 225/60 KV transformer stations, but also to provide a source of renewable production at a very low competitive cost of less than 30 DH / kWh while in 2009 it was around 3.50 DH / kWh”, welcomes ONEE during the technical visit to the site carried out on September 30 by its general director, Abderrahim El Hafidi. The average annual production of around 72 GWh will supply around 34,000 homes. According to our information, at the level of the Missour and Zagora plants, all remaining electrical tests have been carried out, in preparation for the synchronization of the two plants in the network. With the commissioning of the Noor Tafilalt complex, the installed solar capacity in Morocco will increase by around 17%.

Source: LeMatin