The International Finance Corporation “IFC” (International Finance Corporation) and the OCP Group, world leader in the phosphate fertilizer market, have just consolidated their partnership within the framework of a “green loan” agreement for the construction of four solar power plants. . These plants will supply the industrial activities of OCP in Morocco and will thus enable the group to reduce its carbon footprint and increase its production of green manures, indicates a joint press release from the OCP Group and the IFC.
As part of this agreement, announced at the “International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings”, an event organized by the World Bank in Washington, IFC will grant the OCP Group a loan of 100 million euros (M€) for the construction of solar power plants in the mining towns of Benguerir and Khouribga, home to Morocco’s largest phosphate reserves, the statement said.
The four plants will have a combined capacity of 202 Mega Watts (MW) and will supply clean energy directly to OCP’s industrial sites. The project will be implemented by “OCP Green Energy SA”, a subsidiary of OCP created in 2022, to develop and implement the group’s renewable energy production activities.
A “green loan” is financing for the realization of projects where the benefits are assessed and measured against the set environmental objectives. This project is an integral part of the OCP Group’s 13 billion dollar Green Investment Program which aims to increase the production of green manures by leveraging renewable energies.
It will reduce the Group’s emissions by around 285,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) per year.
“This unprecedented agreement underlines our commitment to global agricultural transition. Investing in reliable and competitive renewable energies is a key pillar of OCP’s investment plan to achieve our ambitious objectives in terms of sustainable green fertilizers,” said Mostafa Terrab, Chairman and CEO of OCP Group, quoted in the communicated.
And to continue: “This loan also demonstrates the strong partnership we are building with the IFC and the alignment of our institutions with the global challenges of food security and climate change”.
For his part, Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the IFC declared: “We are proud to support the efforts of the OCP Group to reduce its emissions and green its fertilizer production in Africa”.
“Climate change and food security are deeply interconnected. With this investment, we are helping to build a more sustainable and secure food system for Africa and for the whole world,” he added.
The solar power plants will provide a cost-effective source of energy, contributing to the overall competitiveness of the OCP Group and its production of low-carbon fertilizers. OCP plans to meet 100% of its electricity needs with wind, solar and cogeneration energy by 2027. The plants will also support the diversification of Morocco’s electricity sector.
The project supports IFC’s mandate to help emerging countries access private capital to implement environmentally friendly projects, decarbonize their economies, and adapt to global warming. IFC is committed to increasing its climate-related investments to an annual average of 35% of its long-term commitment volume between 2021 and 2025 and to working with financial institutions to fund projects that support climate change mitigation and climate change. adaptation to climate change.
This project also aligns with IFC’s Global Platform for Food Security, a $6 billion financing facility launched in 2022 to build the capacity of the private sector to respond to the food crisis and support food production. sustainable.
The project will also rely on the expertise of INNOV’X, an innovation vector launched by the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in 2022 and which aims to respond to global sustainability issues and technological challenges. through the development of innovative businesses and high-performance ecosystems with a strong local impact.
In 2021, IFC provided OCP Group with a $100 million loan to support its subsidiary, OCP Africa, to increase the availability of its fertilizers on the continent and improve training in good agricultural practices in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania.
IFC also supported OCP in 2022 in its process of obtaining EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) certification for gender diversity in the workplace.