King Mohammed VI spurs Morocco’s renewable energy revolution

Sixteen years after Morocco announced its plan to rely on renewable energies for electricity production, the country has offered a model of hope for countries who are burdened by fossil fuel, thanks to large scale solar, wind and green hydrogen projects launched under the leadership of King Mohammed VI.

Morocco has increased its renewable energy target from 42% to 52% of installed capacity by 2030, as it continues to stand as an attractive destination for investors in clean energy, building on its propitious investment climate and legislative framework.

So far, Morocco has already reached the 40% milestone and many observers expect the country to be ahead of schedule in surpassing the 52% with the current pace of investment flows.

Morocco was ranked the eighth largest recipient of financial flows in renewable energy at 6.2 billion dollars between 2010 and 2021, according to a recent renewable energy agency report.

Morocco is home to the largest CSP solar farm in Ouarzazate, with a total capacity of 580MW.

The country has a total capacity of 11GW and plans to almost double that to 20GW as it also invests in gas and green hydrogen.

Wind farms are being set up across the country, including in the Saharan territory, where Morocco has identified vast territories as part of its green hydrogen offer.

The offer will allocate 300,000 hectares at a first stage- out of 1 million hectares identified- to investors in integrated projects involving green hydrogen. The offtake would go both to the domestic and international market.

Morocco is also developing a gas plan including the setting up of a floating gas terminal in Nador West Med, besides promoting drills offshore and onshore, to meet the growing needs of its industrial sector.