Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) put online its new Jbel Lahdid wind farm in the Essaouira province this week, according to Morocco’s News Agency MAP. The facility can generate 270 megawatts of power.
Morocco currently has about 5,440 MW in total of renewable energy capacity, including 2,400 MW from wind sources, which is about 45% of the kingdom’s total national electricity production capacity, ONEE said in a press release.
“With the commissioning of the Jbel Lahdid wind farm, we mark a new milestone in our commitment to bolster the Kingdom’s energy independence and support the fight against climate change,” ONEE General Director Tarik Hamane said. “Our country continues to make rapid progress towards achieving the ambitious goal of 52% renewable energy in the energy mix, well ahead of 2030.”
Installed across three ridges along the national road between Essaouira and Safi, the Jbel Lahdid wind farm features 54 turbines, each with a capacity of 5 MW, and several of its components are manufactured in Morocco.
The wind farm is expected to produce approximately 952 GWh annually, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of a large city with 1.2 million inhabitants, such as Marrakech, Fes, or Tangier. It could reduce CO2 emissions by about 580,000 tons per year.
The Jbel Lahdid wind farm has also opened up several access roads totaling 74 km, connecting more than 14 rural municipalities, according to ONEE, and created over 500 direct jobs.
Developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) with Nareva Holding and Enel Green Power, the cost of the wind farm project was approximately 3.25 billion MAD.
[SVO]ONEE also secured concessional financing from several international financing institutions (KfW and EIB) and the European Union.