Morocco Aims for 52% Renewable Energy by 2030, Cutting Fossil Fuel Imports

8 April 2021 – bySylvanus@Bladi · 2 min read

In its march towards reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030, Morocco has made the development of renewable energies a priority. New infrastructures are thus being built or under construction in the Souss-Massa region, in the southwest of the country, sunny 300 days a year to reduce imports of fossil fuels.

In Morocco, the time of the renewable energy revolution has come. The kingdom is on the verge of taking up a major challenge, that of reducing imports of fossil fuels. "By 2030, the country should produce 2,000 MW of solar electricity, 200 MW of wind power, 2,000 W of hydropower. Enough to meet the country’s energy needs by 52%," says economist Mohammed Cherki, a renewable energy specialist, to Ouest France.

Morocco embarked on the development of renewable energies in 2009. The Noor Ouarzazate complex is the first solar project developed, completed and commissioned on February 4, 2016. In 2014, the Souss-Massa region "jumped on the solar train in motion". This region is sunny for nearly 300 days a day, and also has wind on the coast, around Agadir, and mountains, towards the interior, where to build dams. "All the assets were there," summarizes the economist.

Since then, the regional council has not stopped initiating projects to achieve the objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030. We can mention the construction of a hybrid power plant - combining photovoltaics and compressed solar thermal - in Midelt, a more ambitious project than that of Ouarzazate and the new Abdelmoumen Dam Pumped Storage Transfer

Category: Economy

Keywords:

Energy Environment Solar energy