Rabat – Morocco produced 35 percent of its electricity output from renewable energy sources by the end of 2018 with an installed capacity of about 3,000 megawatts, Minister of Energy, Mining, and Sustainable Development Aziz Rabbah said Wednesday in Rabat at the ministry’s media day.
The kingdom aims to produce 52 percent of its electricity mix from renewable sources by 2030.
The ministry set ambitious objectives to expand its renewable energy capacity to 10,000 megawatts by 2030. The additional capacity includes 4,500 megawatts of solar energy, 4,200 megawatts of wind energy, and 1,300 megawatts of hydroelectric energy, Rabbah added.
To achieve its objectives, the ministry, along with energy sector partners, has developed an energy strategy including programs and reforms, the minister explained.
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In October 2018, Rabbah said that the state will invest over $40 billion in the energy sector by 2030, including in a liquefied natural gas project. The government will allocate $30 billion of the total amount to renewable energy projects.
Rabbah emphasized at the Wednesday media day that Morocco is engaged in an energy transition which brought about a “very satisfactory” electricity reserve margin. Renewable energies have reduced Morocco’s energy dependence from 98 percent in 2008 to 93 percent currently, mainly due to a rise in renewable energy, according to the minister.
Increasing energy independence
Morocco spent MAD 69 billion on imported energy in 2017. However, Rabbah said that energy demand has been continuously growing over the last ten years at an annual rate of 4 percent.
The national energy strategy, which focuses on developing renewable energy sources, will help meet the constraints of growing internal energy demand and reduce the country’s external energy dependence.
Morocco’s main energy consumers are the transport sector at 38 percent, followed by the construction sector at 33 percent, and the industrial sector at 21 percent, the minister said.
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Morocco’s overall consumption of primary energy amounted to 20.8 million tons in 2017, including oil (56 percent) and coal (26 percent).
Rabbah mentioned Morocco’s energy efficiency project to “achieve an energy saving of around 20 percent by 2030, targeting the biggest energy consuming sectors.”
The Government Council reviewed the project in June 2017.
The first phase of the study of the energy efficiency project in public administrations and buildings is expected to be completed this year. A German-Moroccan cooperation financed the study for MAD 3 million.
