London, December 5, 2011 (MAP)
London, December 5, 2011 (MAP)
Morocco is embarking on its “ambitious” renewable energy development programme, wrote on Monday the BBC on its website, underlining the country’s will to promote the solar power’s role in the national economic fabric.
“Morocco has so far shown the most enthusiasm” in this area, said the BBC in an article on German group Desertec solar programme, aiming to produce clean solar energy in North Africa and export it to Europe.
Morocco, due to start building the first of five of its own solar plants in 2012, near the south-eastern town of Ouarzazate, wants to produce 42% of its electricity from renewable sources – solar, wind and hydro-electric – by 2020, said the BBC.
A growing population and ambitious industrial programme mean the country’s demand for energy is projected to quadruple by 2030.
“Moroccan authorities have decided to put Morocco on a clean growth path, to explore and use the tremendous potential of renewable energy,” Obaid Amrane, a board member of the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) told the BBC.
Morocco, known for its stability and openness to foreign investors, is keen to co-operate with Desertec and any other regional projects in this key business, said the official.
Commenting on the Moroccan project, John Marks, a North Africa expert at risk analysis firm Cross-Border Information, said that this project is “efficient.”
The BBC said Desertec, a group with heavyweight commercial backers including Siemens and Deutsche Bank, hopes the scheme would also bring the regions around the Mediterranean closer together, as well as providing jobs and stability.
