The world’s largest phosphate-based fertiliser producer is to construct four solar plants to power its Morocco operations. The OCP Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on Wednesday announced a partnership through a landmark green loan to fund the project. The solar plants will help OCP reduce its carbon footprint and green its fertiliser production. Under the agreement, IFC will provide OCP with a green loan of $109 million to build the plants in the mining towns of Benguerir and Khouribga, home to Morocco’s largest phosphate reserves. The deal was announced during the International Monetary Fund – World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington. The plants will have a combined capacity of 202MWp and will supply clean energy directly to OCP’s operations. The project will be implemented by OCP Green Energy SA, a wholly owned OCP subsidiary established in 2022 to develop the company’s renewable energy generation activities. Have y read?Egypt Green, Africa’s first integrated green hydrogen plant A green loan is a form of financing for environmental projects where benefits are assessed and measured against agreed targets. The project is part of OCP’s $13 billion Green Investment Programme, which aims to increase its green fertiliser production and transition its operations to green energy by 2030. It will allow OCP to replace its electricity consumption with green energy, avoiding about 285,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) annually. “This ground-breaking agreement underlines our commitment to the global agricultural transition. “Investing in reliable and competitive renewable energy is a key pillar of OCP’s investment plan towards our ambitious targets for sustainable green fertilisers,” said OCP group chairman and chief executive officer Mostafa Terrab. “Securing this loan is a testimony to the partnership we are building with IFC and the alignment ofor institutions addressing the global challenges of food security and climate change simultaneously.” Have you read?Kenya to develop 300MW green ammonia and fertiliser facility IFC managing director Makhtar Diop said climate change and food security are deeply intertwined. “With this investment, we are helping build a food system for Africa and the world that is both more sustainable and more secure.” The solar plants will provide a cost-effective source of energy, contributing to OCP’s overall competitiveness by increasing production of low-carbon fertilisers, said the IFC. OCP plans to source 100% of its electricity needs through wind, solar and cogeneration by 2027. The plants will also support the resilience and diversification of Morocco’s electricity sector. In 2021, IFC provided OCP with a $100m loan to support its subsidiary, OCP Africa, to increase the availability of fertilisers and improve training on practices on local soils and crops in Côte ÙIvoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania. Share this article © All content copyright 2017 – 2023 VUKA Group, unless specified otherwise.