Solar Scam Shocks Morocco: Defective Chinese Panels Spark Energy Crisis

Between July 2024 and June 2025, Morocco imported nearly 1000 megawatts of these defective panels, which represents a loss of 250 megawatts and more than 400 million dirhams per year, writes Maamar. His publication on LinkedIn has provoked a wave of reactions from professionals in the energy sector who attribute the responsibility for this financial hemorrhage to Chinese manufacturers and Moroccan distributors. Consumers and the Moroccan state, on the other hand, are paying the heavy price of this fraud.

The economic consequences of this "deception" are serious. When an investor or an administration buys 100 megawatts of panels, they actually only receive 75 megawatts. As a result, the cost of investment per effective megawatt increases by 30%, and the capital recovery period is extended by about 33%. This situation weighs particularly heavily on public markets intended for the agricultural sector, which nevertheless benefit from significant financial support.

Faced with these revelations, energy experts are calling for urgent intervention by the Institute of Solar Energy Research and New Energies (IRESEN). They are demanding the launch of an independent audit program to verify the discrepancies between the advertised power and the actual power of solar panels imported into Morocco. The results of this audit should be published in a transparent manner with the relevant serial numbers, in order to exclude and sanction the fraudulent importers and to establish a national technical certification system that would reduce the kingdom’s dependence on foreign certificates.