Morocco’s first offshore wind farm takes shape off Essaouira

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has entrusted this mission to a consortium led by OWC, a firm specializing in renewable energy and offshore wind engineering.

The project is supported by the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen). According to the announcement published by OWC, the studies will focus mainly on the possibility of installing the future wind farm off Essaouira.

The consortium brings together several European and Moroccan specialists in maritime activities, the environment, wind and engineering. It notably includes PHENIXA, Gaïa Terre Bleue, NOVEC and SOFECO.

The presence of the latter two companies should make it possible to integrate the specific characteristics of Morocco’s electricity grid, regulations and infrastructure from the earliest stages of the project.

The mission is expected to last two years. It is financed by the Trust Fund of the Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership Facility, under a contract concluded with the EIB.

Wind, seabeds and ports to be studied

Experts will first have to select the most appropriate site. A meteorological measurement campaign will assess the strength, consistency and potential yield of winds off the Atlantic coast.

The consortium will then have to propose an initial design for the wind farm. Seabed characteristics, technical risks, the supply chain and the conditions for installing the wind turbines will be among the elements examined.

Moroccan ports will also be studied. Installing offshore wind turbines requires infrastructure capable of accommodating particularly large components, as well as vessels specialized in transporting and assembling them.

The study will also have to determine how the electricity generated could be fed into Morocco’s grid. It will include an analysis of the future wind farm’s impact on that grid, as well as an examination of the project’s regulatory framework and environmental and social consequences.

For Hakim Mouslim, OWC’s regional director for Europe and Africa, this mission represents an important step in the development of renewable energy in Morocco and on the African continent. The consortium will support the EIB and Masen in areas ranging from market analysis to geoscience, as well as wind-farm design and maritime logistics.

This process began in 2022. The EIB had then awarded Masen a two-million-euro grant to assess Morocco’s offshore wind potential and prepare a possible first pilot project.