ITOCHU Corporation has announced the participation in Morocco’s first integrated Energy-from-Waste ('EfW') project in Mediouna Casablanca, in partnership with Kanadevia Inova and Nareva. This national infrastructure project will process 1.5 million tons of municipal solid waste annually and cover the annual energy needs of approximately 1 million people. ITOCHU signed a concession agreement with Casablanca Municipality and power purchase agreements with Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) and a public services company (SRM Casablanca-Settat), thereby acquiring a 33.5-year concession (including construction). ITOCHU will invest in project company Al Beida Clean Power through its UK subsidiary I-Environment Investments Ltd.
In Morocco, population growth, economic development and urbanization have led to a rapid increase in waste generation, and urgent action is needed to address augmentation of waste disposal capacity and improve energy self-sufficiency. This is a national project that comprehensively achieves numerous objectives, including proper waste disposal, reduction of landfill waste, energy recovery, and the use of fossil fuel alternatives. Through proper waste disposal and the reduction of landfill waste, the project is expected to enable the avoidance of up to 128 million tons of CO2 emissions over 33.5 years and will significantly contribute to advanced waste management, improvement of energy self-sufficiency, and the realization of a decarbonized society of Morocco.
The 1.5 million tons of municipal solid waste generated annually in Casablanca will be incinerated and the waste heat recovered from incineration will be used to generate energy (generation capacity: 115 MW). The project also involves the operation, closure and management of existing Mediouna landfill sites and the construction and operation of new landfill sites. It also includes plans for the construction and operation of a biogas power plant (generation capacity: 4 MW) using the methane from landfill sites as well as the construction and operation of solar power plant (generation capacity: 50 MW) on surplus land optimized from waste diversion from landfill. This is Morocco's first large-scale integrated EfW initiative combining multiple power generation methods. The total electricity generation capacity of all the facilities will be enough to cover the annual energy needs of approximately 1 million people, which is equivalent to around one quarter of the population of Casablanca.
ITOCHU has previously been involved in EfW projects in the UK, Serbia, Dubai and other countries around the world. Going forward, we will continue stepping up business expansion in Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle and Near East, and Asia, where there is growing demand for the reduction of environmental impacts and clean energy. As an advanced ESG company, we will also contribute to the realization of sustainable local communities and reduction of environmental impacts by expanding initiatives in the waste disposal sector and contributing to the achievement of the five targets within the SDGs.
Source: ITOCHU
