The lowest bids in two tenders for up to 350 MW of concentrated solar power (CSP) capacity in Morocco have been made by tie-ups led by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and Spanish firm Abengoa, Reuters reported. The lowest bids in two tenders for up to 350 MW of concentrated solar power (CSP) capacity in Morocco have been made by tie-ups led by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power International and Spanish firm Abengoa. Results of tenders for constructing and operating the two Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants near the city of Ouarzazate, one of at least 200 MW and the other of at least 100 MW, are expected in the next few weeks, the sources said. Then plants are scheduled to start generating power in 2017. The two Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants are the second phase of the 500 MW Ouarzazate project, which is part of a government plan to produce 2 gigawatts of solar power by 2020, equivalent to about 38 percent of Morocco’s current installed generation capacity. Moroccan solar energy agency Masen said consortiums led by Spain’s Abengoa, GDF’s International Power Gand ACWA Power had been pre-selected for the 200 MW (Noor II) tender. The three groups have also pre-qualified for the 100 MW (Noor III) tender, along with another consortium led by Electricite de France. The consortium led by ACWA group, which includes Spanish international engineering company Sener, bid $0.1601 per kilowatt-hour in power tariffs from the completed plant, the lowest bid received by Masen to build Noor II, the sources said. Abengoa’s consortium made the cheapest offer of $0.1672 per Kwh to build Noor III. If Masen decides to combine the bids for the two plants, the ACWA bids overall would beat Abengoa’s, the sources said. “The two options have been considered. We are studying the two tenders separately as the technology is not the same, but we are also considering combining the two bids as almost the same bidders have been selected for the two plants,” a source from Masen said. Masen has chosen parabolic mirror technology for the 200 MW solar plant, while the 100 MW plant will be built as a solar power tower. Banking sources have said the estimated cost is 1.7 billion euros ($2.1 billion) — 1 billion for the 200 MW plant and 700 million for the 100 MW plant. To finance the plants, Morocco has secured loans of $519 million loan from the World Bank, 654 million euros from German state-owned bank KFW, and the rest from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Commission and European Investment Bank. ACWA Power is already building a 160 MW plant in the first stage of the project in the Ouarzazate area.
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Database of Concentrated Solar Power Projects all around the world

Working with member countries, SolarPACES—Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems—has compiled data on concentrating solar power (CSP) projects around the world that have plants that are either operational, under construction, or under development. CSP technologies include parabolic trough, linear Fresnel reflector, power tower, and dish/engine systems. For individual concentrating solar power projects, you will find profiles that include background information, a listing of participants in the project, and data on the power plant configuration.
These pages should help utilities, financiers, manufacturers, and anyone interested in renewable-energy options to find information on the growing number of concentrating solar power projects around the world.

Browse the Project Profiles

You can browse project profiles under the following categories:
  • Country—listing by one of 21 countries
  • Project name—alphabetical listing by full project name
  • Technology—listing by parabolic trough, linear Fresnel reflector, power tower, or dish/engine systems
  • Status—listing by whether projects have plants that are operational, under construction, under development, request for offer, or currently non-operational.
You can also download comma-delimited data on all projects.

Concentrating Solar Power Projects by Project Name

In this section, you can select a concentrating solar power (CSP) project from the alphabetical listing of project names below. You can then review a profile covering project basics, participating organizations, and power plant configuration data for the solar field, power block, and thermal energy storage.

You can use other sorting options to access information on CSP projects.

Concentrating Solar Power Projects by Country

In this section, you can select a country from the map or the following list of countries. You can then select a specific concentrating solar power (CSP) project and review a profile covering project basics, participating organizations, and power plant configuration data for the solar field, power block, and thermal energy storage.

Concentrating Solar Power Projects by Technology

In this section, you can select a concentrating solar power (CSP) technology from the list below. You can then select a specific project and review a profile covering project basics, participating organizations, and power plant configuration data for the solar field, power block, and thermal energy storage.

Concentrating Solar Power Projects by Status

In this section, you can select concentrating solar power (CSP) projects under one of five categories: operational, under construction, under development, request for offer or currently non-operational. You can then select a specific project and review a profile covering project basics, participating organizations, and power plant configuration data for the solar field, power block, and thermal energy storage.

  • Operational—projects with working power plants that are producing electricity
  • Under Construction—projects where ground has been broken and construction is still in progress
  • Under Development—projects having a signed agreement, but actual construction is still pending.
  • Request for Offer—projects that are response to a call for proposals or that are announced but have no signed agreement.
  • Currently Non-Operational—projects that were operational but are now defunct or that were demonstrations for just a limited period.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s CSP Program assists SolarPACES in maintaining the projects database behind this Web site. Project operators or developers supply information for the key data fields for their projects. SolarPACES experts then review the information to ensure accuracy and completeness. The material is updated regularly, and because this site is new, we are still expanding the number of projects, especially those that are under development.
SolarPACES, an international program of the International Energy Agency, furthers collaborative development, testing, and marketing of concentrating solar power plants. Activities include testing large-scale systems and developing advanced technologies, components, instrumentation, and analysis techniques.
Founded in 1977, SolarPACES now has 13 members: Algeria, Australia, Egypt, the European Commission, France, Germany, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.