Morocco Plans $420 Million Gas-Fired Power Plant in Northern Region

Morocco continues to expand its energy capacities. The National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) will build a 990 megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant at a cost of 4.15 billion dirhams ($420 million) in northern Morocco, reports Reuters. ONEE will finance 20% of the project, while the remaining 80% will come from loans from Attijariwafa Bank and Bank of Africa, in addition to financing from two securitization funds FT Nord Energy and FT Flexenergy, AMMC said in two recently published documents. The plant includes two open-cycle gas turbines (OCGT). It will use diesel as an emergency fuel.

By embarking on the construction of a gas-fired power plant, Morocco is not only diversifying its energy concentration, but it is also pursuing its renewable energy plan aimed at reaching 52% of total installed capacity by 2030, compared to 45% currently. It is also considering a natural gas terminal in the northeastern port of Nador West Med, to be connected to the pipeline it has been using since 2023 to import natural gas from Spanish terminals. In 2024, Morocco’s total installed power generation capacity was 11,918 MW, dominated by coal, it was specified.