Morocco has great potential to generate power capacity and it is aiming to hit more than 50 pc by 2030, according to Energy Minister Laila Benali, who projected optimism about that objective in a recent interview with «The Telegraph.»
«Today the country has about four gigawatts of installed renewables capacity, through a combination of solar, wind and hydro schemes. To reach its 2030 target it will need to triple that figure,» reported the British magazine.
The country has already established itself as an African leader in renewable energy, and it hopes to further solidify its role in providing green technology to its European neighbors, in particular the United Kingdom.
The Ouarzazate Solar Power Station–the Moroccan “crown jewel” of all such operational facilities–is a sight to behold, utilizing countless mirrors arranged in circular pattern in directing the sun’s rays onto an 800-foot tower at their confluence. Just one of several megaprojects established by Morocco to capitalize on the country’s vast solar and wind power potential, it lies on the outskirts of Marrakech.
Still, Morocco’s annual economic output in 2021 was around $142 billion, a mere fraction of the UK’s $3.1 trillion in the same year, reported the IMF.
Europe is likely to be a major market for the country’s power exports. After Russian gas supplies were depleted last year, the region is scrambling to discover alternative sources of clean energy. There are currently two power interconnectors and one gas pipeline running through the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco.
“Since the world started consuming energy, which is the beginning of humanity, there has always been a [distinction] between trading energy [and] consuming it locally,” said Benali. Offering renewable energy for export is important in attracting private investors, national and international, she added.
“However, priority number one is to give access to low cost, low carbon energy to Morocco. Today, with our friends in the UK…I want to start thinking about how we can price climate risk to accelerate the development and execution of these renewable projects, because that’s what we need,’’ concluded the minister.