Siemens Cuts Ribbon of Wind Turbine Blade Factory in Tangier

Siemens has inaugurated the first Turbine Blade Factory in the northern Moroccan city of Tangier that was completed for a total cost of $118 million.

Built over a surface area of 37,500 square meters, the new factory is the first of its kind in North Africa and the Middle East and will offer 600 jobs as well as an estimated 500 indirect jobs.

Markus Tacke, CEO of Siemens Gamesa who attended the plant’s opening ceremony along with Morocco’s Industry Minister, said that the location of the factory in Tangier offers direct access “to some of the most important markets of tomorrow – here in Morocco, throughout the Middle East, in Europe and in the Mediterranean Region.”

He added that this Siemens investment is in line with the objectives of the Moroccan government to increase the share of renewable energy in general and wind energy in particular in the total energy mix.

“The new blade factory also plays an important role in contributing to Morocco’s national program to achieve 52% clean energy by 2030, of which 20% is generated from wind,” the company said.

With a 72% market share in Morocco, Siemens Gamesa says it has delivered key wind energy projects including Tarfaya (300 MW), Tangiers (140 MW), Essaouira (60 MW) and Haouma (50 MW).

By 2020, Morocco is hoping to source half of its energy from renewables, a third of that will be solar power; the other two thirds will come from wind and hydropower.