OCP Solar #1

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 OCP SA (“OCP” or the “company,” https://www.ocpgroup.ma/) and/or its wholly-owned subsidiary, OCP Green Energy SA, plan to design, install and operate four greenfield, captive solar photovoltaic (“PV”) power plants at two of the company’s phosphate mine zones in central Morocco with cumulative installed capacity of 202 MWp and estimated total capital expenditure of €159.2 million (the “project”). The plants will supply OCP’s mines with green electricity during daytime hours.OCP, a state-owned enterprise and fully integrated phosphate fertilizer producer, is the largest producer and exporter of phosphate rock and phosphoric acid globally. As part of its sustainability strategy, OCP plans to become carbon neutral by 2040. Within this overall objective, OCP plans to increase the share of renewable sources in its electricity consumption from 87% in 2021 to 100% by 2030. The project, which is aligned with this objective, will be implemented by OCP and/or OCP Green Energy SA. OCP Green Energy SA was established in 2022 to develop and implement the company’s renewable energy generation activities.The project consists of the following:Khouribga mine zone: i)                    Ouled Fares site – a 105 MWp plant on 168 ha of land; and ii)                 Foum Tizi site – a 30 MWp plant on 52 ha of land.This area is under the jurisdiction of the communes of Ouled Abdoune and Boulanoire (for Ouled Fares), and the communes of Ouled Azzouz and M'fassis (for Foum Tizi), both in Khouribga Province, Beni Mellal -Khenifra region. The closest settlements to the Ouled Fares site are the city of Khouribga, around 5 km to the north and the douar or village of Boulanouare, around 5 km to the northeast. The closest settlement to the Foum Tizi site is around 1.5 km to the east of the site. There are a few scattered dwellings outside the northern boundary of the site.Benguerir mine zone:iii)               Benguerir site – a 22 MWp plant on 38 ha of land; and iv)                Deficit Safi site– a 45 MWp plant on 80 ha of land.This area is located 8 km east of the city of Benguerir, and under the jurisdiction of the commune of Ouled Hassoun Hamri, Rhamna province, Marrakech-Safi region. The closest settlement to the Benguerir and Deficit Safi sites is the douar of Mrabtine Hajra Beida, located around 3 km to the east and 1.4 km to the north of each site respectively. There are a few scattered dwellings in the vicinity of both sites.The proposed IFC investment in the project is a €100 million senior Green Loan to OCP. The plants will consist of a utility-scale PV array single-axis tracking power system with monocrystalline cells.  Preliminary design indicates that each plant will include central inverter stations, converting direct current from the panels to alternating current, and a substation, converting to the appropriate voltage for connection directly into the OCP grid or the national grid.  The plants will also include ancillary structures like office and data control building, warehouses and workshops, and internal roads and will be completely fenced off. The Benguerir plant switchyard will be connected to the Deficit Safi plant switchyard via a new 0.5 km, 33 kV overhead transmission line (“OTL”). The Safi switchyard will in turn be connected to an existing OCP substation (60 kV) via a new, 5 km, 60 kV OTL to be built as part of the project. The Ouled Fares plant will be connected to an existing OCP substation (225/60 kV) via a new, 11 km, 60 kV OTL to be built as part of the project. The Foum Tizi plant will be connected to an existing OCP substation (150/60 kV) via a new, 3 km, 60 kV OTL to be built as part of the project. As the project is designed for self-consumption and without energy storage systems, surplus energy from the plants may be sold to ONEE (within a limit of 10% of the plant’s total energy production, in accordance with Morocco’s self-production regulation). The Benguerir sites are directly accessible by the regional R206 road linking Benguerir to El Kelaa, which connects to the national N°9 road connecting Casablanca to Marrakech. Access roads will connect the Foum Tizi site to the local P3511 road and the Ouled Fares to the national N11 road.All the plants, ancillary facilities, access roads and most of OTLs Right of Way (RoW) are located on OCP owned lands. A 500 m stretch of the 3 km OTL that will connect the Foum Tizi plant to the substation will be routed across private land. The sites are generally flat with some parts being used for rainfed commercial cereal cultivation and livestock grazing. Only the Ouled Fares and Benguerir sites have some structures on them. The routes of the OTLs and access roads have been designed to avoid any physical structures. OCP has delegated all Engineering, Procurement & Construction Management (“EPCM”) services to JESA, a joint venture between the company and Worley, a global engineering and environmental services consultancy. Under this arrangement, JESA will manage the procurement and implementation of all 7 works’ packages on behalf of OCP: 1) modules, 2) inverters, 3) trackers and structures, 4) step-up transformers, 5) interconnection/T-lines, 6) early works, and 7) general construction works/ balance of plant. Apart from the early works contracts, which are between OCP and the early works contractors, all other contracts are between JESA and the respective suppliers / contractors. At the point of IFC’s disclosure, the project was still in the design stage.  Early works including site demarcation, topographic surveys, establishment of office and other support buildings and fencing had commenced at all the sites. JESA has commenced the process of selecting the equipment suppliers via competitive tender. The construction activities are expected to commence in Q1 2023 and completed within 12 months.  The plants are anticipated to be operational for 25 years. The Operation and Maintenance (i.e., “O&M”) arrangement is expected to involve a third-party O&M contractor (the “operator”) to be selected by competitive tender.The project is expected to employ up to 450 (peak) workers during the construction stage and up to 20 workers on average during the O&M phase.OCP is an existing IFC client since 2021 (Project# 43582 disclosed in May 2021). Environmental and Social Review summary (ESRS) of previous OCP investment is available at https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/43582/ocp-africa-cf.