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Fri March 29 2024

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Vinci picked for Moroccan hydro scheme

9 Jan 18 A Vinci-led JV has won a €284m (£252m) contract for a pumped-storage hydroelectric plant in Morocco.

It will work in joint venture with the Andritz Hydro electromechanical company to build the Abdelmoumen plant, which is located 70 km from Agadir.

The contract covers construction surveys, civil engineering works, supply of materials and pumping equipment, assembly, testing and commissioning.

The civil engineering works to be carried out by VINCI Construction include earthworks for two reservoirs, excavation for the powerhouse to be embedded in the slope, and installation of the penstock pipe over a distance of 3km, including 1km underground.

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New roads will be built and several others will be refurbished to provide access to the facilities both during construction and during operation of the future site. The electromechanical equipment, for which Andritz Hydro is responsible, includes a high voltage substation and two 175MW Francis turbines specially developed in the company’s laboratory.

The water stored in an uphill tank will be released into a 3km transfer line and travel on a natural slope to a tank about 550m downhill. A 350MW hydroelectric plant will be built along the penstock between the two reservoirs. The reversible plant will generate electricity when operating in turbine mode and pump water from the lower to the upper reservoir in pumping mode. The system will thus generate renewable energy on demand. It can be switched between pumping and turbine mode up to 20 times a day, depending on the amount of surplus electricity available or the needs of the Moroccan electricity grid.

A total of 840 people will be recruited for the 48-month project, including 780 to be hired locally; a  training programme will be set up.

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