RABAT, MOROCCO / MENA Newswire / – The World Bank has approved $265 million to support Morocco’s Ifahsa Pumped Hydropower Storage Project, a 300-megawatt clean energy facility planned for the country’s north. The financing backs a major storage project designed to help Morocco add more renewable power to its national electricity grid.
World Bank financing supports Morocco’s pumped hydropower storage project. (Credit – WAM)
The project will be built near Chefchaouen and will use pumped hydropower storage technology. The system pumps water to an upper reservoir when electricity supply is high, then releases it through turbines when demand rises. This model helps balance power supply from solar and wind plants.
The facility is expected to support the integration of at least 1 gigawatt of new solar and wind capacity. It is also expected to help replace about 3 terawatt-hours of fossil fuel-generated electricity each year. The World Bank said the project could avoid about 1.7 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Project financing structure
The financing package combines funds from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, concessional support from the Clean Technology Fund, and a grant from the Livable Planet Fund. The African Development Bank is co-financing the project. Morocco’s Office National de l’Électricité et de l’Eau potable will implement it.
The Ifahsa project forms part of Morocco’s broader push to strengthen grid flexibility as renewable energy expands. Pumped hydropower storage can store excess electricity and provide power when solar or wind generation changes. That function is important for a grid with rising shares of variable renewable energy.
Grid and construction details
Project documents describe the plant as a two-unit facility, with each reversible pump-turbine unit rated at 150 megawatts. The site is expected to connect to the national grid through high-voltage transmission infrastructure. The project also includes reservoirs, waterways, electromechanical equipment, grid links, and related civil works.
Construction is expected to create about 820 direct jobs annually during the works phase. The project ranks among Morocco’s largest clean energy infrastructure investments and one of the most significant pumped hydropower storage projects on the African continent. It also adds long-duration storage capacity to support Morocco’s electricity system.