The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) has invited final commercial bids from developers to build a 160MW concentrated solar power (CSP) project at Ouarzazate.

Final bids to design, build, operate, maintain and finance the project were submitted on 21 March. Three groups submitted bids with the following levelised tariffs:

• Acwa Power (Saudi Arabia), Aries Ingeniería y Sistemas (Spain) and TSK Electronica y Electricidad (Spain): MAD 1.597944 (18.87 $ cents) a kWh
• Enel (Italy) and ACS Servicios Comunicaciones y Energia (Spain): MAD2.057201 a kWh
• Abeinsa (Spain), Abengoa Solar (Spain), Mitsui (Japan) and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (UAE): MAD 2.057503 a kWh

A final group was prequalified for the project but did not submit a bid. It comprised Egypt’s Orascom Construction Industries, Germany’s Solar Millennium and the US’ Evonik Steag. Between prequalification and final bid submission, Solar Millennium filed for bankruptcy. According to the prequalification criteria, any group including a company that has filed for insolvency would not be eligible to submit a bid.

Masen launched the tender with the Washington-based International Finance Corporation and the UK’s Linklaters as advisers. It then replaced these advisers with the US’ Citigroup as financial adviser and France’s Gide Loyrette Nouel as legal adviser (MEED 8:4:11).

This is the first phase of the Ouarzazate solar complex and will be based on concentrated solar power (CSP) parabolic trough technologies. The project will include a 3-hour power storage unit and is to be operational by 2014. The first project is to be followed by four subsequent phases at Ouarzazate, including one project that will use a CSP tower. In total, 500MW of solar power capacity will be built at the site by 2015.