Stalled for seven years, the Noor Midelt I solar megaproject resumes with a Chinese contractor

The state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation has announced the signing of the EPC contract for Noor Midelt I. It covers the design studies, equipment supply, construction, installation and commissioning of the plant located in Midelt province.

The contract was awarded to a consortium comprising China Energy International Group, the Southwest Electric Power Design Institute and China Energy Engineering Group. The facility will include approximately 630 megawatt-peak of photovoltaic panels and 1,300 megawatt-hours of electrochemical storage, according to China Energy.

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These figures mark a departure from the project awarded in 2019 to the consortium formed by EDF Renouvelables, Masdar and Green of Africa. Noor Midelt I was then supposed to develop 800 megawatts by combining photovoltaics and concentrated solar power, a technology making it possible to generate electricity after sunset.

Thermal solar power replaced by batteries

Construction had nevertheless never begun. Disagreements over the technology had paralyzed the project: the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water and the Ministry of Energy had challenged the initially selected thermal-storage solution, reported Reuters in February 2024.

The new configuration no longer includes a concentrated solar power plant. It relies on photovoltaics and batteries capable of storing 1.3 gigawatt-hours of electricity. The system is intended to store part of the solar production before releasing it when sunlight decreases or demand increases.

This restart comes as Morocco plans nearly 10,000 megawatts of additional renewable capacity and the massive development of battery storage by 2030. The kingdom still aims for renewables to account for 52% of its installed electricity capacity by that date.

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Noor Midelt I is thus back in the race seven years after its initial award, with reduced capacity and a completely redesigned architecture. China Energy has disclosed neither the value of its contract nor the expected completion date for the plant.