MARRAKECH, (Reuters) – Morocco’s state-owned phosphates and fertiliser producer OCP said on Tuesday it had signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s investment arm, on a 100 million-euro ($106 million) loan to build two solar plants to increase production of low-carbon fertilizers.
The two photovoltaic plants will be located in the mining areas of Khouribga and Benguerir with a combined capacity of 400 megawatts and a storage capacity of up to 100 megawatt-hours, OCP said in a statement.
This green loan is the second offered by the IFC to OCP within a year after a similar 100 million-euro loan last April to build four plants with a combined capacity of 202 megawatts in the same mining areas.
Last year, OCP announced an investment plan worth 130 billion dirhams ($13 billion) to fully rely on renewable energies for its fertiliser production by 2027.
In June, OCP told Reuters it plans to invest $7 billion in an ammonia plant using green hydrogen, produced from renewable fuel.
(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi; editing by Jonathan Oatis)