EBRD and ONEE sign \u20ac300 million loan agreement to support ONEE\u2019s financial resilience
\nLoan structured as a sustainability-linked loan \u2013 the first in the region\u2019s energy sector \u2013 with ambitious climate-related targets
\nProject will also support ONEE\u2019s digitalisation journey
\nThe European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Morocco\u2019s Office National de l\u2019Electricit\u00e9 et de l\u2019Eau potable (ONEE) have signed a \u20ac300 million loan agreement.<\/p>\n
ONEE is involved in generation, transmission and renewables. Morocco is strongly committed to the energy transition in order to achieve its objective of having 52 per cent of its installed capacity from renewables by 2030. In this context, ONEE and the country as a whole are taking important steps towards decarbonisation, while maintaining the security and affordability of energy.<\/p>\n
The loan is structured as a sustainability-linked loan (SLL) \u2013 the first one in the MENA and Africa region\u2019s energy sector. It provides an example of how energy utilities can link financing with support for the transition to a low-carbon economy. The proceeds will be used to improve the company\u2019s financial resilience, helping to alleviate the impact of the energy crisis.<\/p>\n
The SLL builds on ONEE\u2019s increasing climate ambitions via two key performance indicators \u2013 namely, reducing the carbon intensity of electricity generated in Morocco and increasing renewable sources\u2019 share of the country\u2019s total electricity production. The company\u2019s Sustainable Performance Targets (SPTs) are in compliance with Morocco\u2019s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitments, and a leading independent second-party opinion provider has confirmed the SLL\u2019s alignment with the internationally recognised Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles, rating the overall project as \u201cambitious\u201d. This verification process was supported by FSD Africa.<\/p>\n
As part of the loan, ONEE has committed to undertake retirement of some Carbone intensive thermal capacities in the medium term, building on Morocco\u2019s enhanced climate ambition of transitioning to a net-zero economy by 2050 as announced at COP28. The EBRD will be supporting ONEE\u2019s efforts to (i) prepare a decarbonisation strategy, (ii) improve its climate governance and expand the digitalisation of the company\u2019s core activities by establishing a digital roadmap strategy and implementing digital use cases.<\/p>\n
As part of this decarbonisation effort, ONEE is further strengthening its network and capacity planning to facilitate the renewables to be connected to the grid, as well as continuing to optimise electricity dispatch by taking into account the network\u2019s carbon intensity.<\/p>\n
Morocco is at the forefront of the climate action agenda, and the EBRD has been one of the leading financiers of green technologies in the country for more than a decade now, being particularly active in private-sector financing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark Bowman, the EBRD\u2019s Vice President for Policy and Partnerships, said: \u201cThis landmark sustainability-linked loan \u2013 the first of its kind in the region\u2019s energy sector \u2013 demonstrates that innovative finance can drive real impact. The EBRD\u2019s support, in close coordination with the Moroccan Government, is helping ONEE to accelerate its decarbonisation and digitalisation journey while strengthening its financial resilience in response to the energy crisis. This reflects our commitment to sustainable growth and long-term impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarik Hamane, the CEO of ONEE, commented: \u201cUnder the guidance of His Majesty Mohammed VI, Morocco is recognised as having one of the most ambitious strategies in the region for promoting renewable energy and pioneering green technologies. We are proud that ONEE is playing a major role in the integration of renewables into the energy mix with a view to increasing renewables\u2019 share to 52 per cent by 2030. The EBRD has been a long-standing and trusted partner in supporting our decarbonisation and energy transition goals. This new partnership marks another important milestone in our joint efforts to build a more sustainable, resilient, and low-carbon power system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and\u202fbecame a beneficiary of Bank resources in 2012. To date, the EBRD has invested more than \u20ac5.4 billion in the country through 119 projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EBRD and ONEE sign \u20ac300 million loan agreement to support ONEE\u2019s financial resilience Loan structured as a sustainability-linked loan \u2013 the first in the region\u2019s energy sector \u2013 with ambitious climate-related targets Project will also support ONEE\u2019s digitalisation journey The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Morocco\u2019s Office National de l\u2019Electricit\u00e9 et de […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[91,59,130,43,111,15,27],"tags":[20288,20298,20278,600,998,20300,20280,1718,20290,20286,7043,2536,20274,20302,20272,20284,20308,2310,20294,20296,20270,20304,20282,20306,20276,3468,20292],"class_list":["post-7138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arab-countries-en","category-energy-en","category-featured-en","category-finance-investment-en","category-mou-partnerships-en","category-press-releases","category-technology","tag-carbon-intensity","tag-climate-governance","tag-climate-related-targets","tag-cop28","tag-decarbonization","tag-digital-roadmap","tag-digitalization","tag-ebrd","tag-electricity-production","tag-energy-crisis","tag-energy-sector","tag-energy-transition","tag-financial-resilience","tag-green-technologies","tag-loan-agreement","tag-low-carbon-economy","tag-low-carbon-power-system","tag-morocco","tag-nationally-determined-contribution","tag-net-zero-economy","tag-onee","tag-private-sector-financing","tag-renewables","tag-resilient","tag-sustainability-linked-loan","tag-sustainable-performance-targets"],"yoast_head":"\n