Morocco, longing to reduce its dependence on fossil energy, has embarked for a few years on an energy investment program by 2020, estimated at US$18.95 billion, reports said on Friday.
The Kingdom predicts that the share of installed electrical power in renewable energy (wind, solar, and hydraulic) will be 42 percent of the system by 2020, before rising to 52 percent in 2030. This will make it the African leader in the field.
The prospects for development of the renewable energy sector in Morocco are very favorable. The country has indeed a wind potential estimated at 25,000 MW, of which nearly 6,000 MW can be realized by 2030; a solar potential illustrated by 3,000 hours of sunshine per year and 5 KWh/square km/day of irradiation; a significant hydraulic potential for hydraulic micro-power stations; more than 200 exploitable sites; significant biomass potential, highly developed transit energy infrastructures and an attractive legal and institutional framework making it possible to accelerate the implementation of renewable energy development projects.
Thus, to carry out this energy transition, under the watchful eye of King Mohammed VI himself, the country’s entire electricity production policy has been redesigned. The private sector is now heavily involved in the country’s electricity production.
Thanks to a simple and attractive mechanism, companies invest and manage wind or solar farms and the State, through the National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), ensures them purchase contracts of the entire production over a long period (20 to 30 years), at a price set from the start.
This well-thought-out strategy thus brought the installed capacity of renewable energy (solar, wind and hydro) to 5,194 MW in 2018.
Based on this observation, the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) ensures that the target for 2020 will be exceeded. His Majesty therefore invited MASEN officials to revise upwards the target of 52 percent by 2030, during a working held on November 1 on the sector.
Today, the installed powers of renewable energy are:
– 700 MW for solar energy distributed among five power plants,
– 1,012 MW for wind power distributed among ten wind farms in operation,
– 1,770 MW for hydroelectricity distributed between 29 dams and STEP (pumped energy transfer stations).
Noor Midelt I, a solar energy project, composed of two hybrid power plants with a capacity exceeding 800 MW is underway. The project received several financings in 2017 and 2018 and five consortia were pre-qualified for its realization. With Noor Midelt II, its size will be larger than that of the Noor Ouarzazate Complex (1,600 MW).
Finally, Noor PV II (photovoltaic) another solar energy project will soon be launched, with a capacity of more than 800 MW distributed among several provinces (Laayoune, Boujdour, Taroudant…).
Two hydroelectricity projects are underway: Abdelmoumen STEP in Taroudant (350 MW, to be inaugurated in 2021) and Ifahsa STEP in Chefchaouen (300 MW, to be commissioned in 2025).
The year 2019 also saw the launch of three projects: The repowering of Koudia Al Baida, whose capacity will increase from 50 to 120 MW. Its inauguration is scheduled for 2020; the Taza wind energy project (90 MW) and the Midelt wind energy project (180 MW).
Thanks to its projects and those already carried out, Morocco is on the list of the main world markets in this promising field. Out of a total funding of more than US$ 2.6 billion, it is one of the major solar energy projects funded in the course of 2018. A total dominated by the portfolio of the Noor Midelt solar power plant with an output of 800 MW, estimated at US$ 2.4 billion.
The global share of electricity produced by renewable energies reached 12.9 percent in 2018, compared to 11.6 percent in 2017. This prevented the emission of two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide for last year alone, representing substantial savings, considering global emissions, which reached 13.7 billion tonnes in 2018.
ARD/Dng/fss/abj/APA