The World Bank approved $265 million on Wednesday to support Morocco’s Ifahsa pumped-storage hydropower project near Chefchaouen, a major clean-energy facility expected to become the largest of its kind in Africa.
The 300-megawatt plant will help Morocco integrate at least 1 gigawatt of additional solar and wind capacity into the national grid, the World Bank said. One gigawatt can supply electricity to roughly one million homes, depending on consumption levels.
The project is also expected to attract about $1 billion in private investment.
Pumped-storage hydropower uses surplus electricity generated by wind and solar installations to pump water into a higher reservoir. When electricity demand rises, the water is released through turbines to generate power, helping stabilise the grid when renewable production falls or consumption peaks.
The project is expected to create about 820 direct jobs annually during implementation, while the expansion of renewable capacity could support further employment across Morocco’s energy sector.
Morocco already operates the 465-megawatt Afourer pumped-storage plant, which entered service in 2004, as well as several hydroelectric dams. The Ifahsa facility, however, is specifically designed to store surplus renewable electricity and release it when demand is highest.
The project will be implemented by Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water, or ONEE, with financing from the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the Clean Technology Fund.
“The Ifahsa project exemplifies the kind of transformative partnerships we strive to build,” said Ahmadou Moustapha Ndiaye, the World Bank’s division director for the Maghreb and Malta.
He said the project would bring together multilateral institutions while delivering environmental, social and economic benefits.
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