In these times, when the soaring price of fossil fuels and especially that of natural gas are shaking the world and which are constantly causing great concern worldwide, there is no doubt that renewable energies are becoming more and more part of the suitable alternative.
Morocco, which knows a lot about the increase in the price of fossil fuels, is a good student in this area of renewables through a wise policy and sometimes, it even achieves excellence. The various world rankings in this area bear witness to this, such as those of the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) ranking by Ernst & Young (EY) or others, where he is a student of which we can be proud.
To each his own ranking, Morocco in the worst case and according to the indexes is in the top twenty when it is not the best in others. Indeed, the RECAI ranking, which lists the top 40 world markets according to their attractiveness in terms of investment since the beginning of the century, has practically ranked the Kingdom at the top of the podium since energies have been indexed to GDP.
Fossil energy prices dragging electricity prices in their wake, the energy transition is becoming more topical than ever around the world and renewable energies seem to be by far the solution. As proof, the latter now represent 26% of production worldwide.
In Morocco, at the end of 2021, the installed capacity in En was 4,050 MW out of a total capacity of 10,743 MW, i.e. a share of nearly 38% of the energy mix. The Kingdom’s objective is to reach 52% in 2030 and 80% by 2050.
Our country was quick to remember that historically it had to import most of its energy. Also, with the explosion of renewable energies, it has set itself the goal of achieving these objectives. Normal, with the thousands of hours of sunshine per year. For the time being, solar energy is dominant, however, wind power will not be long in overtaking it with regard to the major projects in progress and the “wind” at its disposal.
For the end of 2022, an additional capacity of 87MW in wind power is planned thanks to the completion of phase 1 of the Taza wind farm. The initial target (planned for 2020) of 42% would be achieved in 2023, that of 52% in 2025 and that of 64.3% in 2030, for a total installed capacity of 20,254 MW. Other projects in this area are planned in Morocco whether in solar or wind power throughout the Kingdom.
The cost of new solar and wind projects is lower than the cost of existing coal-fired power plants, according to several studies. In fact, the economy is becoming favorable to renewable energy around the world due to the twin threats of geopolitical insecurity and climate change.
This makes the investment climate for renewable energy increasingly attractive in the short term as energy prices rise and governments around the world increase their climate change targets.