IMPACT ISSUE 14 | APRIL 2018 Image Source: ©Randy Montoya | Sandia Labs via flickr CC BY 2.0 BEYOND ELECTRICITY: HOW MOROCCO’S SOLAR PLANT IS BENEFITING COMMUNITIES AND WOMEN AND SHAPING THE REGION’S FUTURE The Noor-Ouarzazate complex is one of the largest concentrating solar power (CSP) facilities in the world— so large, in fact, that it is visible from space. Its goal is to provide power to over one million Moroccans while reducing Morocco’s oil consumption by about 2.5 million tons and cutting 760,000 tons of carbon emissions per year. It represents a bold step that underlines Morocco’s commitment to breaking dependence on import- ed fossil fuels and moving toward low carbon development. The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) has provided comprehensive support to the government of Morocco since the beginning of the project. The result has been $200 million in World Bank financing and $97 million co-financing from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) to construct CONCENTRATING the plant complex. SOLAR POWER INVESTING IN A GLOBAL PUBLIC GOOD Concentrating solar power (CSP) CSP holds unique potential as a renewable resource that can provide flexible, reliable, utility-scale power even when the sun is not shining. However, high is more expensive to install than technology costs and limited operating examples can deter investors, photovoltaic modules—solar especially in higher-risk emerging markets. Because development of CSP has panels that capture and convert the potential to be a global public good, the World Bank, through the CTF, sunlight into energy—but enables financed a regional initiative to scale up CSP in five countries in the Middle superior bulk energy storage. East and North Africa, including Morocco. The initiative set out to reduce the CSP works by using mirrors to high costs of CSP technology and therefore attract private sector investment. focus and concentrate the sun's light, heating a liquid that then Image Source: ©Dominic Smillie | World Bank produces steam. The steam drives a turbine and generates electrical power. At the same time, the heat from the mirrors also melts a cylinder full of salt. The salt retains much of this warmth, staying hot enough at night to provide additional power. ESMAP funding and early technical assistance were supported various knowledge exchanges among practi- instrumental in building consensus among regional tioners and policy makers from across the region to stakeholders on the way forward, establishing opera- learn from each other’s experience with CSP. tional and legal frameworks, and undertaking economic Only two years after becoming operational, Noor- analyses. Specifically for Morocco, two ESMAP studies Ouarzazate I is outperforming expectations, setting an helped to catalyze the large investment in the Noor- example for the rest of the region, and illustrating the Ouarzazate complex. value of CSP. Early results show that the plant The Competitiveness Assessment of MENA Countries  Sourced 30-35% of the total project costs in local to Develop a Local Solar Industry assessed Morocco’s components and services ability to attract private sector investment and provided recommendations necessary to develop a local solar  Generated 160 MW capacity industry.  Impacted 347,780 direct beneficiaries The Middle East and North Africa Region Assessment of the Local Manufacturing Potential for Concentrated  Reduced greenhouse gases by 254,800 MT Solar Power (CSP) Projects found that CSP presented  Returned 85% of site compensation cost, approxi- Morocco with an opportunity to generate local jobs and mately US$3 million, to local communities through increase incomes, in addition to providing energy secu- a pipeline of local development projects rity and promoting renewable energy. CSP would create an entire industry where local manufacturers  Contributed to the scale-up of CSP technology and would supply specialized components and services subsequent verified reductions in the technology’s throughout all three phases of development. In addition costs. to economic benefits from construction and civil works, such manufacturers could also reap economic benefits EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES by exporting CSP components. AND WOMEN To ensure that the valuable lessons of CSP develop- ment are captured and disseminated, ESMAP also The Noor-Ouarzazate complex was not designed to merely produce electricity. It was a project for the Moroccan people and as such, it focused on creating Image Source: ©Yang Aijun| World Bank economic opportunities for local communities and domestic manufacturing for CSP technologies. Field research carried out in 2015 found that populations in the neighboring villages are very proud of the project and its potential to improve their lives. Women appeared even more enthusiastic than men. And they are right to be. Women’s participation in the labor force in Morocco is among the lowest in the world and in the Ouarzazate province that rate is even lower. They see the complex as an opportunity for employment, including in high- skilled, longer-term jobs. ESMAP’s study Gender Equality in Energy Infrastruc- ture: Lessons from Electricity Generation, Transmis- sion, and Distribution Projects looked at the situation more closely. In Noor-Quarzazate’s case, the study found that the local communities made choices that benefited every- one, including women and children. For example, instead of cash compensation for the land lost, which would benefit only male landowners, the community opted for investments in basic amenities and social services for all, such as draining and irrigation 2 IMPACT | ISSUE 14 Image Source: ©Aarthi Sivaraman | World Bank channels, drinking water facilities, community centers, health and safety unit, and in highly skilled positions and mobile health caravans. Some projects, like the such as topographer and welder. Without these provi- construction of a dormitory for female students and sions, their participation in the workforce would be even sport and camp programs for children, directly and lower. positively impact women. While the project boosted employment opportunities, THE NEXT PHASE: the study found that women still faced challenges in EXPORTING CSP finding jobs because of inadequate qualifications and adverse gender norms in rural areas. Women represent The second phase of the Noor-Ouarzazate complex is only 4% of the CSP facility’s workforce. Provisions for a expected to create 11,000 new jobs. The construction safe and positive work environment for women made it for the site has already created 4,000 positions for possible for them to work in a range of positions within Moroccans, ranging from low skilled work in construc- the complex, encompassing traditional activities such tion to high-tech positions in engineering and manage- as catering, cleaning, and administration with some ment. The overall impact on Morocco’s economy will be holding more technical roles in quality control and the significant—estimated to be as much as US$4.6 billion by 2020. A key component of the second phase CSP scale-up in Morocco is the creation of a viable green energy market to export the energy generated by the Noor- Ouarzazate complex to Europe. ESMAP worked with the government of Morocco to institute a regulatory framework and put in place a draft legal agreement allowing for electricity exports from Morocco to France and Germany through Spain. BEYOND ELECTRICITY GENERATION The project stands to deliver a lot. Not only will it provide clean and reliable power for Moroccans, reduce their dependence on oil, and lower carbon emissions, but it is also expected to have significant gender and socioeconomic impacts. But the Noor-Ouarzazate complex is already delivering much more—it is providing evidence for CSP as a IMPACT | ISSUE 14 3 reliable investment and technology for electricity Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Frame- production; it is establishing the Middle East and North work Convention on Climate Change (COP) in 2016. Africa as a place of tremendous potential for solar ESMAP’s support for the Noor-Ouarzazate complex generation; and it is propelling Morocco into a regional has been comprehensive and has informed inter- leadership role in climate mitigation, as evidenced by national efforts to finance the scale-up of CSP. the selection of Marrakech for the 22nd Session of the Image Source: ©Randy Montoya | Sandia Labs via flickr CC BY 2.0 ESMAP MISSION The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) is a global knowledge and technical assistance program administered by The World Bank. It provides analytical and advisory services to low- and middle-income countries to increase their know-how and institutional capacity to achieve environmentally sustainable energy solutions for poverty reduction and economic growth. ESMAP is funded by Australia, Austria, Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, the Rockefeller Foundation, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as well as The World Bank. 1818 H Street, NW Washington DC 20433 www.esmap.org esmap@worldbank.org