https://international.la-croix.com/news/morocco-a-window-on-renewable-energy-in-africa/4161?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_content=30-12-2016&utm_campaign=newsletter__crx_lci&PMID=3d4bff6e21bd8a4c42e60d5186400d8e
Morocco: A window on renewable energy in Africa The North African kingdom will host COP22 beginning Monday. Jean-Claude Bourbon Morocco December 30, 2016 a.. Noor solar power station, Ourzazate, Morocco / Koza1983 / Wikipedia / CC 3.0 Renewable energy is already a reality in Morocco, which has both the largest solar farm in Africa at Ouarzazate and the largest windfarm at Tarfaya. The North African nation, which will host the 22nd international conference on climate (COP22) beginning on Monday November 7, committed itself in 2009 to the construction of 3,000 megawatts of solar, wind and hydro-powered electricity. It appears to be well on the way to achieving these objectives, which will meet 42% of the nation’s energy needs by 2020 and 50% by 2030. Benefiting from abundant sunshine and regular winds, Morocco’s green ambitions are not linked to purely environmental considerations. The nation currently buys 97% of its energy from overseas, particularly Algerian gas. Thus, with energy consumption growing by an average of 6% per year, the bill amounts to 10% of its GDP. “Morocco no longer wishes to depend on its neighbors. That was a critical factor for getting things to budge,” explains Cédric Philibert a specialist in renewable energy at the International Energy Agency. Moreover, King Mohammed VI personally involved himself in the energy transition, greatly assisting in the removal of many administrative obstacles. An arsenal of measures have thus been implemented to attract investors. “Morocco’s genius was to tap public resources in order to finance private projects on behalf of the general interest. It is a model that is unique in the world,” emphasizes Fabrice Jucquois, energy project head at the French Development Agency, which has invested 100 million euros in the first of four stages of the Noor solar power plant, which opened at Ouarzazate in February and is operated by the Spanish company Acciona. Already, its 500,000 mirrors are gathering the sun’s rays to melt salt and store heat for several hours, enabling electricity to be produced even after nightfall. The mechanism implemented for the financing of the project is simple. Morocco, via its public agency Masen, borrows from funding agencies in order to lend to operators selected from a tender process. The low interest rate, which is around 1%, results in a lower electricity price, and thus ultimately less money to spend by the government via a repurchase price that has been fixed. “Morocco is a stable and dynamic country economically. So it has no difficulty in sourcing funds from investors,” emphasizes Anne Dampierre, a lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright and adviser to Masen. With respect to wind energy, which is a more mature technology, financing is entirely private. “Governance [of the project] is remarkable with totally transparent procedures while competition among operators is increasing,” notes Bruno Bensasson, head of the African operations of the French company Engie, which operates the 300MW windfarm at Tarfaya. As a results, costs continue to fall. The latest wind energy tender for 850 MW was thus won by the Italian company Enel on the basis of 28 € per MW/h, a price one third of that in France.
