By: AGBI

The World Bank will lend $265 million to develop a pumped-storage hydropower plant in Morocco as part of the country’s renewable energy push.

The facility combines financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, concessional funding from the Clean Technology Fund and a grant from the Livable Planet Fund, the World Bank said in a statement.

The project in northern Morocco will act as a giant rechargeable battery for the national electricity grid.

The 300MW plant will enable Morocco to integrate at least 1GW of additional solar and wind power into the grid.

It will replace almost 3 terawatt-hours of electricity currently generated from fossil fuels each year, avoiding an estimated 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

The project is expected to create 820 direct jobs a year during construction, the statement said.

It is co-financed by the African Development Bank and will be implemented by Office National de l’Électricité et de l’Eau potable, Morocco’s state-owned utility provider.