3 December 2013: The World Bank and the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) held a Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative workshop that discussed possibilities for bringing concentrated solar power (CSP) to utility-scale by improving financing options, reducing costs, mitigating risks, and building local capacity.

The two-day workshop addressed ‘Strengthening the Solar Energy Option and Utility-Scale Solar Power Development & Management’ and was held in October 2013 in Marrakesh, Morocco, to bring energy policy-makers and practitioners together to share national experiences on energy management and scaling-up solar power.

Participants discussed the issues of: policy and regulatory frameworks for utility-scale solar; balancing domestic manufacturing with internationally-sourced technologies; integrating solar power into existing systems; pre-requisites of large-scale solar rollout; and risk-mitigating financial instruments. Participants noted that tendering and reverse auctions are becoming the norm for CSP, and noted the importance of regulatory environments in ensuring these and other incentives work.

The World Bank and SE4ALL initiative are planning future similar workshops on various specialized operational, technical and financial aspects of utility-scale solar projects. [World Bank Press Release]