even years after it was awarded, the first plant of the Midelt solar complex has yet to see a single piece of construction equipment. China Energy Engineering Corporation announced on Wednesday, September 2, that a grouping of three of its entities had signed the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the plant.
The group describes roughly 630 megawatts-peak of photovoltaics paired with 1,300 megawatt-hours of electrochemical storage. It declines to date its own signature, placing it with the single word “recently.”
The project awarded on May 21, 2019 was not this one. Masen had selected a consortium led by EDF Renouvelables for 800 megawatts of a hybrid between concentrated solar power and photovoltaics, and construction was to open within the year.
The Energy Ministry and ONEE objected, citing cost and the limits of thermal storage. The technology changed, and so did the builder.
China Energy says the plant will become, once completed, the largest single-site solar-plus-storage project in Africa.
Photo: InnocentsAbroad, public domain.
China Energy Engineering Corporation — statement on the signature of the EPC contract for the first plant of the Midelt solar complex, 2 September 2026.
Masen — Noor Midelt I, project sheet.
EDF — press release “Consortium of EDF, Masdar and Green of Africa named as successful bidder for Morocco’s landmark Noor Midelt I solar project with an installed capacity of 800 MW”, 22 May 2019.
Reuters — on the technology dispute that delayed the plant.
Le Desk — « Noor Midelt I: China Energy signe l’EPC et embarque LONGi et Sungrow », 2 septembre 2026.
