AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
MOROCCO
NOOR OUARZAZATE SOLAR COMPLEX PROJECT – PHASE I (NOOR OUARZAZATE I POWER PLANT)
PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT (PCR)
Public Discosure Authorized DisclosurePublic Authorized
RDGN/PERN
January 2019
Translated Document
PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT AFRICAN FOR PUBLIC SECTOR OPERATIONS (PCR) DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP
I BASIC DATA
A Report data
Report date Date of report: 30 September 2018 Mission date (if field mission) From: 5 March 2018 To: 16 March 2018
B Responsible Bank staff
Positions At approval At completion Nono MATONDO-FUNDANI Mohamed EL AZIZI Regional Director Director, ORNB Director General, RDGN Amani ABOU-ZIED Leila F. MOKADDEM Country Manager Resident Representative, MAFO Country Manager, COMA Héla CHEIKHROUHOU Ousseynou NAKOULIMA Sector Director Director, ONEC Director, PERN Zakou AMADOU Tarsim ACHRAF Sector Manager Division Manager, ONEC.1 Division Manager, RDGN.1 Ibrahim KONATE Adama MOUSSA Task Manager Chief Energy Officer Principal Electrical Engineer, COMA/RDGN.1 Alternate Task Youssef ARFAOUI Succès MASRA Manager Chief Renewable Energy Specialist Principal Energy Economist, PERN1 Adama MOUSSA PCR Team Leader Principal Power Engineer, COMA/RDGN.1 Adama MOUSSA Principal Power Engineer, COMA/RDGN.1 Succès MASRA Principal Energy Economist, PERN.1; PCR Team Members Beya IMEN BCHIR Principal Environmentalist, SNSC/RDGN.4 Iman SERROKH Disbursement Assistant, FIFC.3/COMA
1
C Project data
Project name: Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex Project – Phase I (Noor Ouarzazate I Power Plant) Project code: P-MA-FF0-001 Instrument number(s): 1. ADB loan no. 2000130008480 2. CTF loan no. 5560130000101 Project type: Investment project Sector: Energy Country: Morocco Environmental categorization (1-3): Category 1 Processing milestones – Bank Key Events (Bank approved Disbursement and closing dates (Bank approved financing only (add/delete financing only) approved financing only) rows depending on the number of financing sources) Financing source/ instrument1: ADB Financing source/ instrument1: Financing source/ instrument1: ADB loan: EUR 168,000,000 ADB loan: EUR 168,000,000 loan: EUR 100,000,000 Date approved: 16 May 2012 Cancelled amounts: EUR Original disbursement deadline: 31 68,000,000 (24 April 2013) December 2016 Date signed: 19 November 2012 Supplementary financing: N/A Original closing date: 31 December 2016 Date of entry into force: 19 November Restructuring (specify date & amount Revised (if applicable) disbursement 2012 involved): N/A deadline: N/A
Date effective for 1st disbursement: 11 Extensions (specify dates): N/A Revised (if applicable) closing date: N/A June 2013 Date of actual 1st disbursement: 26 July 2013 Financing source/ instrument 2: Financing source/ instrument 2: Financing source/ instrument 2: CTF loan: USD 100,000,000 CTF loan: USD 100,000,000 CTF loan: USD 100,000,000 Date approved: 16 May 2012 Cancelled amounts: 0 Original disbursement deadline: 31 December 2016 Date signed: 19 November 2012 Supplementary financing: N/A Original closing date: 31 December 2016 Date of entry into force: 19 November Restructuring (specify date & Revised (if applicable) disbursement 2012 amount involved): N/A deadline: N/A Date effective for 1st disbursement: 11 Extensions (specify dates): N/A Revised (if applicable) closing date: N/A June 2013 Date of actual 1st disbursement: 26 July 2013 Financing source1: Disbursed amount Percentage Undisbursed Percentage (amount, UA): disbursed (%): amount (UA): undisbursed (%): ADB loan 100 60% 682 40% CTF/ADB loan 75.43 100% - - CTF/World Bank loan 73.04 100% - - AFD loan 77.5 77.5% 22.55 22.5%
1 Fixed project conversion rates (consortium bid rate retained: EUR 1 = MAD 11.1535; USD 1 = MAD 8.4129 2 ADB loan of an initial amount of EUR 168 million, adjusted to EUR 100 million to take into account the project’s real needs (cancellation of EUR 68 million) 3 CTF/ADB loan denominated in USD totalling USD 100 million 4 CTF/WB loan denominated in USD totalling USD 97 million 2
EIB loan 77.5 77.5% 22.56 22.5% KFW loan 100.0 100% - - NIF/EU grant 30.0 100% - - BMU/KFW grant 15.0 100% - ACWA Power Consortium (private) 86 100% - - TOTAL 634 85% 113 15% Co-financiers and other external partners: 1. French Development Agency (AFD) 2. European Investment Bank (EIB) 3. World Bank (WB) 4. Clean Technology Fund (CTF)7 5. Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) of the European Union (EU) 6. Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbau (KFW) 7. German Ministry of Environment (BMU) Executing and implementing agency (ies): 1. Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN): Borrower vis-à-vis donors 2. ACWA Power Ouarzazate (APO): Noor Ouarzazate I Power Plant Project Company
D Management review and comments
Report reviewed by Name Date reviewed Comments Country Manager Leila F. MOKKADEM Validated Sector Manager Achraf TARSIM 29/11/2018 Validated Regional Director Mohamed EL AZIZI 30/10/2018 Validated Sector Director Ousseynou NAKOULIMA 06/11/2018 Approved
II Project performance assessment
A Relevance
1. Relevance of project development objective
Rating* Narrative assessment (max 250 words) 4 Poorly endowed with conventional energy resources, the Kingdom of Morocco is almost totally dependent on external markets for its supply of modern energy sources to satisfy the growing demand inherent in its economic development and population growth. This energy dependence was about 95% in 2009.
The acceleration of Morocco’s economic and social development has led to a growth in demand for electricity of 6.5% on average per year since 2000. To meet this demand, and in order to overcome this heavy dependence on external markets for its supply of modern (fossil) energy sources, Morocco is implementing its new National Energy Strategy (2010-2030), adopted in March 2009. The latter seeks to: (i) increase electricity generation from renewable energies; (ii) strengthen supply security and energy availability; and (iii) generalise access to electricity (rural areas) at reasonable costs. These objectives will be achieved through diversification of sources through the development of its national renewable energy potential, the promotion of energy efficiency and closer integration into the regional energy system. By 2020, the installed capacity of electricity generation from wind, hydro and solar sources will each represent 2,000 MW, or a total 6,000 MW of renewable sources. Morocco’s ambition, in the green energy sector, is to develop an energy mix of which 42% will be based on renewable energies in 2020 and 52% in 2030.
5 AFD loan of an initial amount of EUR 100 million, adjusted to EUR 77.5 million to take into account the project’s real needs (cancellation of EUR 22.5 million) 6 EIB loan of an initial amount of EUR 100 million, adjusted to EUR 77.5 million to take into account the project’s real needs (cancellation of EUR 22.5 million) 7 CTF resources were mobilised jointly by the AfDB and the World Bank (as CTF executing agency) and administered equally, or 50% per institution. 3
The Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex Project, with a targeted total capacity of about 580 MW, is part of the Moroccan Solar Programme known as the “Noor8 Programme”. The Programme has been developed as part of the National Energy Strategy (2010-2030), which aims, by 2020, to develop integrated electricity generation projects from the solar source, for a total capacity of at least 2,000 MW. The Noor Programme will be developed in several sites identified across the country (Ouarzazate, Midelt, Tata, Jerrada, Laayoune, Boujdour, etc.). The Noor Ouarzazate site is situated 10 km north-east of the city of Ouarzazate on a total surface area of 3,043 ha, acquired by MASEN. This surface area is the result of a first acquisition by MASEN in 2011, of an initial plot of 2,500 ha and a second acquisition in 2012 of 543 ha, consisting of three plots adjacent to the initial site. The Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex is, therefore, the first achievement of the Noor Programme.
* For all ratings in the PCR use the following scale: 4 (Highly satisfactory), 3 (Satisfactory), 2 (Unsatisfactory), 1 (Highly unsatisfactory)
Relevance of project design
Rating* Narrative assessment (max 250 words)
4 The Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex, with a targeted total capacity of 580 MW spread over four (4) power plants, is the first achievement of the Noor Programme. The development of the complex is planned in three (3) main phases:
- Phase I : construction of a first 160 MW concentrated parabolic trough solar thermal power plant (CSP9) (Noor Ouarzazate I) and common infrastructure that will serve all the phases of development of the Noor Ouarzazate complex (access roads, water and electricity supply, fence wall, telecommunications, security, etc.) ;
- Phase II: construction of two (2) concentrated solar thermal power plants with a total capacity of 350 MW, including a 200 MW parabolic trough power plant (Noor Ouarzazate II) and a 150 MW solar tower power plant (Noor Ouarzazate III) ; and
- Phase III: construction of a 70 MW photovoltaic (PV) power plant (Noor Ouarzazate IV power plant).
The surface areas (rights-of-way) of the above-mentioned solar plants are respectively 480 ha (Noor Ouarzazate I); 610 ha (Noor Ouarzazate II); 583 ha (Noor Ouarzazate III); and about 130 ha, expandable to 230 ha (Noor Ouarzazate IV).
Each solar power plant of the Ouarzazate complex will be built under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework for private electricity generation in the IPP form10, covering the design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the power plant concerned for a period of 25 years, for concentrated solar thermal power plants (CSP), and 20 years for the photovoltaic (PV) power plant.
In addition, the Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex Project is also part of the CTF Investment Plan for the promotion of concentrated solar thermal power (CSP11) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region (“CTF Investment Plan for MENA-CSP (MENA CSP CTF IP”), which aims to develop CSP plants with a cumulative total capacity of one gigawatt (1 GW). This Investment Plan has been prepared with the countries of the region under the auspices of the African Development Bank and the World Bank. It will enable participating countries to take advantage of their solar resources to contribute to the global fight against the effects of climate change, while significantly increasing the global installed CSP capacity. The MENA CSP CTF IP Plan had been initially approved in December 2009 by the CTF Trust Fund Committee and updated in November 2010, May 2013 and June 2014. The first projects to be approved under the Plan are the Noor Ouarzazate Project – Phase I (160 MW) in June 2011 and the Noor Ouarzazate Project – Phase II (350 MW) in June 2014.
8 Noor means “light” or “glare” in Arabic 9 Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) 10 Independent Power Producer (IPP) 11 Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) 4
2. Lessons learned related to relevance
Key issues Lessons learned Target audience (max 5, add rows as needed) 1. Political The unwavering commitment of Moroccan Authorities to the MASEN commitment at the development of renewable energies has provided an ideal Bank highest level of institutional basis for project success. Morocco’s ambition, in the Donors State is necessary to green energy sector, is to develop an energy mix of which 42% will ensure good energy be based on renewable energies in 2020 and 52% in 2030. It is in transition this context that under the medium and long-term actions, the 2,000 MW Integrated Solar Energy Programme (Noor Programme) and the Integrated Wind Energy Programme were, respectively, launched on 2 November 2009 in Ouarzazate and 28 June 2010 in Tangier, with His Majesty King Mohamed VI as chairperson. Regarding more specifically the Noor Solar Programme, this commitment took concrete form in 2010 through two agreements signed on 26 October 2010, which launched the programme’s first activities. These are: (i) the Framework Agreement between the State and MASEN aimed at defining the terms and conditions for implementing the Moroccan Solar Programme; and (ii) the Tripartite Agreement between the State, ONEE and MASEN, aimed at specifying the rules and conditions for the supply, transmission and marketing of the solar electricity generated. Under the Framework Agreement, MASEN undertakes to carry out all the actions necessary to carry out each project with quality and diligence, while the State undertakes to ensure the financial balance of MASEN by integrating the balance of each project. Indeed, given the still relatively high costs of the CSP technologies to be deployed in the two project plants, in comparison with conventional thermal power plants (coal, fuel oil, gas) and hydropower plants operating in Morocco, a financial gap is expected in the operating phase resulting from the difference mentioned above, despite the mobilisation of concessional financing and the downward trend in the costs of solar technologies. 2. Innovative Reduction of project costs by securing the necessary funds for MASEN project structuring debt financing: The construction of the Noor Ouarzazate I power Bank under Public- plant was planned under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Donors Private Partnership framework for private electricity generation in the IPP13 form, to reduce the covering the design, financing, construction, operation and levelised cost of maintenance of the plant concerned for a period of 25 years. The electricity financing mechanism provides for the total cost of the Noor (LCOE12) Ouarzazate I power plant to be financed by the debt for 80% and up to 20% by the equity funds of the Solar Project Company (SPC14). The resources needed for the debt are provided by MASEN, which has mobilised and secured the necessary funds from its external financial partners (donors), including the Bank. The resources needed for the debt will be provided by MASEN through a mechanism of retrocession of concessional loans (or Facilities Agreement (FA)) that it will have contracted from its donors. In order not to increase the cost of the electricity that will be generated, the retrocession will be in a single concessional loan to
12 Levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) 13 Independent Power Producer (IPP) 14 Solar Project Company 5
the SPC, on terms and conditions equivalent to a mix of loans contracted (same terms for average maturity but with a potential interest margin in addition to the average interest rate on loans). A facilities agreement will be signed between MASEN and the SPC and will specify the terms and conditions (retrocession/reimbursement of funds). Concessional financing provided by donors has had a substantial impact on reducing project production costs in comparison with commercial loans (reduction of about 5 to 10%).
This scheme: (i) secures financing of the debt by the Borrower (MASEN) from various donors at concessional rates and by lending them to the SPC through a single loan whose terms and conditions are shared with private developers during the bidding process; and (ii) enables private partners to carve out their debt repayment profile and structure the electricity tariff and debt repayments in multiple currencies, at their convenience, and reduce the currency risk. 3. A rigorous Cost reduction through an international competitive bidding MASEN private developer process: The selection of the private partner (developer), to be Bank recruitment process responsible for the design, financing, construction, operation and Donors with quality offers, maintenance (for a period of 25 years) was made through a rigorous resulting in better international recruitment process. The quality of the process and pricing and the competition between the developers provided better (lower) investment levels price and investment levels than expected. than expected
B Effectiveness
1. Progress towards the project’s development objective (project purpose)
Comments Provide a brief description of the Project (components) and the context in which it was designed and implemented. State the project development objective (usually the project purpose as set out in the RLF) and assess progress. Unanticipated outcomes should also be accounted for, as well as specific reference of gender equality in the project. The consistency of the assumptions that link the different levels of the results chain in the RLF should also be considered. Indicative max length: 400 words. The Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex Project – Phase I enables Morocco to meet its national and international commitments. Its sector goal is to contribute to reducing Morocco’s energy dependence on external markets and imported fossil fuels by developing electricity generation from renewable energy sources using innovative technologies. Its specific objective is to initiate the large-scale deployment of CSP technology in Morocco by constructing the first CSP power plant, Noor Ouarzazate I, with a capacity of 125 to 160 MW, on the site of the Noor Ouarzazate solar complex (with targeted total capacity at completion of 580 MW).
The Noor Ouarzazate I power plant is expected to be developed using concentrated parabolic trough solar thermal power plant (CSP) technology with an installed capacity of 160 MW and an estimated annual output of 500 GWh. Compared to a power plant operating on heavy fuel oil, it will prevent the emission of greenhouse gases equivalent to about 240 thousand tonnes of CO2 per year, or 6 million tonnes of CO2 during the 25 years of its operation. With an average annual per capita consumption estimated at 1,041 kWh in 2016 (Source: ONEE15), the power plant will guarantee the supply of electricity to more than half a million Moroccans. It will be equipped with a thermal power storage system (using molten salt) that will ensure its operation at full capacity for three (3) hours without solar radiation (sunset, cloudy periods), if sunshine conditions (Direct Normal Irradiance, DNI) so
15 In 2016, the net energy demand reached 35,414 TWh for a Moroccan population of about 34 million, or a consumption of 1,014 kWh/capita (source: ONEE 2016 Annual Report – Electricity Branch) 6 permit. The thermal storage system will offer better integration of electricity generation from this solar power plant (parabolic trough CSP technology) into the national electricity grid through the interconnected electricity grid. More specifically, it will enable the Noor Ouarzazate I power plant to cover national demand for electricity at the peak hours defined in the purchase and sale contracts signed between the various parties. As a reminder, peak hours in the demand for electricity on the national electricity grid are respectively from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. in winter and from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. in summer. The project, which is implemented under public-private partnership (PPP) through a Project Company, has a single component, namely "Energy Infrastructure and Project Management". Planned activities consist in the development of the Noor Ouarzazate I power plant, with parabolic trough CSP technology, including: site development, solar farm, power plant, electricity evacuation, thermal energy storage system, heat energy transfer systems, cooling systems, environmental and social measures, technical assistance, engineering and development, works control and supervision, project administration and management, audits of project financial statements, monitoring/evaluation, etc. Following an international bidding process launched on 29 July 2010, a consortium, led by the International Company for Water and Power Projects (ACWA Power) (Saudi Arabia) and consisting of technical members (ARIES Ingenieria y Sistemas, SA (Spain) and TSK Electronica y Electricidad (Spain)), was selected in September 2012 as the contractor of the Noor Ouarzazate I power plant. This consortium offered the price per kWh (net of tax) at peak hours, evaluated the most economical at MAD 1.62/kWh (EUR 0.14/kWh or USD 0.19/kWh). The project company (SPC16) of the Noor Ouarzazate I power plant, incorporated under Moroccan law, was created in November 2012 under the name ACWA Power Ouarzazate (APO). It is 75% majority owned by the ACWA Power consortium (composed of APBH17, TSK, ARIES) and 25% by MASEN through its subsidiary MASEN Capital (MASEN K). The Noor Ouarzazate I power plant is constructed by a consortium of Spanish companies (ACCIONA, SENER and TSK) under a turnkey EPC contract18. The ARIES group (Spain) provides consulting engineering services. The DISEPROSA company (Spain) acts as Lender Technical Advisor (LTA). The latter supervises the construction of the plant and validates payment requests. For this purpose, the LTA conducts periodic site visits and reviews the documents provided by MASEN and APO, in order to validate payment requests associated with the various stages of construction of the plant. The FICHTNER firm plays the role of Independent Engineer and is responsible for the supervision of various tests of the main equipment, the commissioning of the plant and the certification of performance tests. Construction and commissioning of the Noor Ouarzazate I plant: The Noor Ouarzazate I plant was deployed very satisfactorily by MASEN and by the SPC created for this purpose under the name "ACWA Power Ouarzazate (APO)". The plant was deployed using the concentrated parabolic trough solar thermal (CSP) technology. It has an installed capacity of 160 MW with an annual electricity production estimated at 500 GWh. It is also equipped with a thermal energy storage system (using molten salt) that ensures its operation (at full capacity) for three (3) hours without solar radiation (sunset, cloudy periods), if sunshine conditions so permit. The Noor Ouarzazate I plant was commissioned in late 2015. Hence, the date of commissioning of the plant was deferred by mutual agreement between MASEN and APO. The first synchronisation of the plant to the electricity grid was carried out on 25 November 2015. The initial date of commercial operation was deferred until 20 January 2016, when the performance tests were successfully carried out, with retroactive effect as of 31 December 2015. The plant was officially inaugurated on 4 February 2016 by His Majesty King Mohamed VI. All the certificates of initial tests were issued by the Independent Engineer and 31 December 2015 was confirmed as the Initial Commercial Operation Date (ICOD). Thus, all the activities involved in the development of the Noor Ouarzazate I power plant were completed and it entered the operation phase since 1 January 2016.