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Rabat – The Moroccan Ministry of Energy, Mines, and the Environment, has organized a workshop to present the potential of geothermal energy in Morocco.
Morocco’s Minister of Energy Aziz Rabbah presided over the event at the ministry’s headquarters in Rabat on Wednesday, January 29.
During the workshop, representatives from the National Office of Petroleum and Mines (ONHYM) presented the results of studies about geothermal energy and its use. The presentation also revolved around the potential of geothermal energy in Morocco, especially in the Oriental region and in the southern provinces.
In 2012, ONHYM launched a research program to identify potential sites where Morocco can develop its geothermal energy production. The studies led to the mapping of more than 1,500 water points.
The research phase revealed the two Moroccan regions with the highest potential are the Oriental region in northeastern Morocco and the Tarfaya-Laayoune-Dakhla basins in southern Morocco.
Geothermal energy can be used in domestic heating, cattle and sheep farming, soil heating, balneotherapy, and aquaculture. It can also serve as a clean and sustainable source for electricity production.
During the event, Rabbah stressed the need to create regional partnerships and to promote investments in geothermal energy. Such investments would have a significant socio-economic impact on tourism, agriculture, and job creation.
The minister also called for the establishment of a geothermal technical committee, led by the ONHYM, that will meet regularly and draw a roadmap for the development of geothermal energy in Morocco by April 2020.
The official invited the committee to learn from the experience of countries that have already made progress in this sector.
To do so, the ministry will soon organize an international workshop with several leading actors in the field.
At the end of the event, Rabbah announced that the ministry is currently preparing a regulatory text relating to geothermal energy and its fields of exploration, research, and exploitation.
Participants in the workshop included representatives from ONHYM, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Planning, the National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), the Cherifian Office for Phosphates (OCP), and the National Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN).
