According to information published by the Afrol News Agency, the donation agreement was signed in Rabat by the Moroccan Energy Minister, Amina Benkhadra, and the Japanese ambassador in Rabat, Haruko Hirose.
The agreement establishes that Japan will put up $7.4 million for the project to generate clean energy using photovoltaic solar technology, specifically by developing a 1-MW array in Assa-Zag in Southern Morocco. The funding will be used to acquire the equipment required to construct the plant and transport it to Morocco, as well as to train technicians to use the equipment.
Japan has once again acted as a “sponsor” of photovoltaic projects in emerging countries, after doing so a month ago in Uruguay, when it donated $8 million to develop a solar array in the region of Salto.
According to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), as well as helping emerging economies to boost their renewable energy portfolios, Japan has been implementing measures to accelerate home-grown renewable energy, such as support in the form of subsidies and tax incentives, the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS), and the buyback program for photovoltaic generation.
In addition to these measures, since November 2009, METI has been considering introducing feed-in tariffs.
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