Tuesday 17 / June / 2025
Muscat: ACWA Power on Sunday inaugurated its 120MW Khalladi wind farm in Tangier, which is expected to supply clean power at competitive prices to a number of large Moroccan industrial companies operating mainly in the cement sector.
The wind farm, developed by ACWA Power in collaboration with ARIF Investment Fund, is located at Jbel Sendouq, 30km from Tangier, representing an investment of $170 million.
The project was completely privately funded, with equity from ACWA Power and ARIF, as well as long-tenor debt from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in collaboration with the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Moroccan BMCE Bank of Africa (BMCE). While ACWA Power, ARIF, and BMCE are well established investors in the renewable energy sector in the Kingdom, the Khalladi project is the first renewable energy project financed by the EBRD in Morocco.
The 370GWh of energy that the plant will produce and supply annually to industrial companies is equivalent to the yearly average consumption of a city of 400,000 people and will contribute to the reduction of more than 144,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
With renewable energy playing an important role in the overall development of countries in Africa, including Morocco, the Khalladi project is expected to help the North African Kingdom achieve its target of increasing the renewable energy component in the energy mix to 42 per cent and its ambition to develop 2,000MW of wind capacity, both of which it seeks to achieve by 2020.
ACWA Power Chairman Mohammad Abunayyan praised Morocco as a viable investment destination and said his company was proud to help the country meet its energy needs.
“Morocco’s energy sector offers attractive investment opportunities, due to a well-established regulatory framework put in place by the Moroccan government and due to the country having already attracted significant investments in solar and wind energy,” Abunayyan said. “All that has made it possible for ACWA Power to, within six years, deliver the 160MWe NOORo I solar plant, the 120MW Khalladi wind farm, and a series of other investments in construction which, by the end of 2018, will accumulate up to 800MW of generation capacity in the Kingdom.”
“Today, we are proud of having been able to establish in Morocco a solid foundation of 7 power plants, which will all be operational by the end of this year,” he added. “With a portfolio valued at over $3.2 billion, we look forward to participating in the future tenders that will be offered to the private sector for power generation and desalinated water production.”
The company has made significant investments in Morocco, with projects and operations expected to be rolled out over the coming decades. ACWA Power Morocco will also serve as a platform for the development of other energy projects in the continent as the company grows its operations into West Africa.
Paddy Padmanathan, President and CEO of ACWA Power, echoed Abunayyan's sentiments, adding that his company was elated to bring clean energy to Morocco.
“We are privileged to be contributing to the durability of Morocco’s economic and social development through the implementation of an efficient and environment-friendly energy policy, which is bringing online a significant capacity of reliable electricity supplies which utilise the renewable energy resources that the Kingdom is richly endowed with, thus reducing energy import bills and conserving foreign currency for decades to come," said Padmanathan.
"We are also proud to not only be able deliver renewable energy at the lowest possible cost to the industries and people of the Kingdom but also add value to the social and economic development of the country and the communities within which our power plants are located by maximising local content and local employment and by contributing to community development," he added.
Padmanathan also revealed that the project complied with international environmental standards.
"The Khalladi wind farm is also the first transaction in the Kingdom of Morocco which is eligible to receive IREC’s green credits," he said. "It has also secured the Gold Standard certification, representing ACWA Power’s commitment to align with Morocco’s vision and UN SDGs regarding climate and sustainable development."
