HM the King Chairs Working Session on Sector of Renewable Energy, Royal Office

PERSISMA, Rabat – HM King Mohammed VI chaired, on Thursday at Rabat Royal Palace, a working session on the implementation of the renewable energy strategy, said a statement by the royal office.

 This working session is part of the regular follow-up by the monarch regarding the effective and operational implementation of the renewable energy strategy.

The year 2018 was marked by the achievement of objectives, within the deadline set at the previous working meeting chaired by the Sovereign last April, notably making the entire Noor Ouarzazate solar complex (580 MW) operational, which, with the successful synchronization of the Noor Ouarzazate III tower, reinforces its position of the largest operational solar multi-technology complex in the world.

The Noor Laayoune I and Noor Boujdour I solar power plants were also completed for a combined capacity of 100 MW. These two power plants were built under an innovative financing plan that used the first green bond issue in the Kingdom.

These plants, which are part of the first projects initiated under the new model of the southern provinces development promoted by HM the King, pave the way for further progress for the benefit of local populations and economic stakeholders.

This working session was also an opportunity for Masen President to present to the Sovereign the timetable for the implementation of the Noor PV II program and the construction works of the solar power plants of the solar complex Noor Midelt, which bring, thanks to the hybridization of solar, thermal and photovoltaic technologies, an optimized response to the needs of the national network.

Regarding wind projects, HM the King was informed of the overall progress of the integrated wind program. The launch of the building works for the Midelt wind farm (180 MW) and the Taza wind farm (100 MW) is scheduled for the first half of 2019.

The year 2019 will be also marked by the launch of the repowering project for the Koudia El-Baida wind farm, the first wind project developed in Morocco and operated in 2000 by the ONEE. This repowering project, which will increase the farm capacity from 50 to 120 MW, will take advantage of the latest technological advances in this area and improve the development of the wind energy resources in the northern provinces of the Kingdom. This is a first in Africa and the MENA region.

At the end of this meeting, HM the King gave his instructions in order to revise and increase the initial ambitions related to renewable energy to exceed the current goal of 52% of the national electric mix by 2030.

To this end, the Sovereign ordered the Head of Government to promote and encourage the exemplary nature of the public administration drawing on the measures laid down in the Royal Speech of Aug. 20. Public buildings will have to set an example by using renewable energy to maximize energy efficiency and achieve significant savings.

Similarly, the Sovereign stressed the need to adopt an additional integrated program to back all the scheduled water desalination plants with renewable energy production units to ensure their autonomy and energy saving, by relying primarily on the deposits available near the plants, like the wind power plant in Dakhla, or even the exploration of new sources of energy such as the waste energy transformation (Biomass) in big cities like the agglomeration of Casablanca.

The session was attended mainly by Head of Government Saad Eddine El Otmani, HM the King’s advisors Fouad Ali El Himma and Yassir Zenagui, and Minister of Economy and Finance Mohamed Benchaaboun.