Access Infra Africa bids for 850 MW wind energy project in Morocco

Access Infra Africa has placed the North African country at the heart of its plans to invest up to $500mn in wind energy and solar power projects across the continent.

 

Access Infra Africa is bidding to develop a wind energy project in Morocco with a total power production capacity of 850 MW.

The company also has plans to expand its activities in other African nations, including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ghana, according to Reda El Chaar, chairman of UAE’s Access Power, which formed Access Infra Africa recently in partnership with Eren Developpement SAS.

It was announced earlier this month that Access Infra Africa was pre-qualified to develop 200 MW of solar and 100 MW of wind power capacity in Egypt. El Chaar told Reuters in a phone interview that Egypt is a market where “renewables make sense” and that everyone will be considering its long-term viability.

The joint venture’s previously announced intention is to invest more than USD 500 million (EUR 431.7m) in renewable power stations in Africa over the next three years. In a separate interview with Daily News Egypt, El Chaar has pointed out that the firm wants to spend between USD 350 million and USD 400 million on renewable energy projects in Egypt over the next two to three years.
The new venture involving UAE-based Access Power has its sights set firmly on Egypt’s impending renewable energy bonanza.
“Egypt is one of those places where renewables make sense… no investor will ignore Egypt just because it fell into two or three years of unrest. Everyone will be looking at the long-term viability of the market,” Access Power MEA chairman Reda El Chaar told Reuters.

The new company prequalified earlier this month by Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity to develop four solar plants with total capacity of 200MW and two wind plants with 100MW, El Chaar told the newswire.

The projects are part of the first round of Egypt’s renewable energy procurement programme launched late last year.

Chronic power shortages and blackouts have spurred the country’s new leadership to accelerate moves to procure 12GW of renewable energy capacity by 2020 – the largest renewable energy target in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, after Saudi Arabia.

Access is also bidding for a wind power plant with a capacity of 850MW in Morocco and is eyeing to expand its operations in other African countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Ghana through the new venture, El Chaar said.

EREN Developpement owns a 20% stake in Access Power and funds 70% of its operations in Africa.

For a detailed look at Egypt’s renewable energy programme, catch the February issue of Utilities Middle East magazine.