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ENERGY IN MOROCCO

Difficulties and challenges

supervised by : Prof. Dr Ulrich Daldrup

prepared by : Tanji Fatima Zohra

Summer semester 2017

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Summary

1. Geography and climate : ................................................................................................................. 4

Geography: .................................................................................................................................. 4

Climate: ....................................................................................................................................... 5

2. Morocco’s energy potential in oil and coal: .................................................................................... 5

3. Could this potential decrease the dependence on oil and coal imports? ....................................... 6

4. Demand and supply in energy and economical impact: ................................................................. 7

5. Morocco and the Potential Consequences of Climate Change ....................................................... 7

6. Morocco Energy police: ................................................................................................................... 8

7. Morocco's Electricity Mix in 2013 ................................................................................................... 9

8. Energy Optimization choices for the future generations: ............................................................. 10

1. Hydropower energy:.............................................................................................................. 10

2. Nuclear power: ...................................................................................................................... 10

3. Wind energy: ......................................................................................................................... 11

4. Solar power: .......................................................................................................................... 11

9. Major solar energy projects: ......................................................................................................... 12

10. Other initiatives: ........................................................................................................................ 15

Ain Beni Mathar project ............................................................................................................ 15

ONEE solar project:.................................................................................................................... 15

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I. Introduction and summary

Morocco officially known as the Kingdom of Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with

an elected parliament.

The northern African country has a population of 35 million and an area of (446550 sq

km).

The biggest issue of the country of all times , is The Western Sahara conflict .this ongoing

conflict between the Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco is the continuation of

the past insurgency by Polisario against the Spanish colonial forces in 1973–75 and the

subsequent Western Sahara War between the Polisario and Morocco (1975–91).

Economically speaking, Morocco is considered a relatively liberal economy governed by

the law of supply and demand.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Morocco is worth 111.1 billion US dollars in 2016.

The GDP value of Morocco represents 0.16 % of the world economy and it has become a

major player in the African economic affairs, and it is the 5th African economy by GDP.

Energy sector plays a very important role in the country’s economical growth,

unfortunately morocco even with remarkable qualifications in term of climate ,

geography etc , it has almost no natural gas, coal or oil resources , at this same its

economy relies on this sort of energy to produce electricity with more than 85 % of its

needs in all sectors . In one hand the demand is rising up more and more on the other

hand the energy consumption is also to increase due to many factors.

The cost of imports represents a significant part of Moroccan trade. So, Today Morocco’s

goal is to secure the most reliable and sustainable energy supply at the lowest possible

cost.

In response, the Moroccan authorities have rolled out some assertive strategies that aim

primarily at developing renewable energies, so today the country is given itself the

resources to accomplish its goals, and we hope to start to reap the first rewards very

soon.

In this report we will have a closer look on morocco’s energy potential , the influence of

this data on its economy, the most significant difficulties the country suffer from in the

same contest and then challenges , choices and measures taken by the government to

overcome these issues and to make a new step further its economical independence and

growth .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_monarchyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polisario_Fronthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Moroccohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Sahara_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_economyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_and_demandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

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1. Geography and climate :

Geography:

Morocco is a Northern African country, located in the extreme northwest of Africa on the

doors of continental Europe, bordering Algeria to the east, Mauritania Sahara to the

southwest, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean to the north.

The strait of Gibraltar separates Spain off Morocco with a 13 km span of water.

Large mountainous areas in the interior body, are extended, the Atlas and Rif mountain

chains.

In the extreme South-East of the country, is located the Sahara desert, considered the 3th

largest desert in the world with 9000 000 miles squared.

Map of Morocco

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Africa

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Climate:

Due to this diversity in geography, the weather in morocco is also not unified.

Morocco's climate can be divided into two parts: The northwest and the southeast.

In the southeast, the climate is more arid or dry.

In the northwest the climate is temperate and akin to the climatic conditions that

coming from the Iberian Peninsula.

Along the Mediterranean coast, the climate is typically Mediterranean.

The summers are moderately hot and the winters are mild.

Further away from the coast, into the Rif Mountain range, the climate starts to become

more continental in character, with colder winters and hotter summers. At elevations

above 1,000 meters, the climate is alpine with warm summers and cold winters.

Rainfall is much higher on the west side, than it is on the east side

The southern regions of the northwest are Semi-arid influenced. Rainfall is lower, and

is between 250 and 350 mm annually.

Although temperature ranges generally do not change in comparison with the upper

provinces, a slight increase in high averages is not to be dismissed. Largely due to the

lower latitudes where they fall.

Snow is abundant at higher elevations (There are two ski stations, one in the middle-

Atlas Mischliffen, and the other in the High-Atlas Oukaïmeden.)

2. Morocco’s energy potential in oil and coal:

Currently, Morocco sources its natural gas from the royalties that it receives for gas

transported from Algeria over a 522 km stretch of its territory via the Maghreb-Europe Gas

Pipeline (1,620 km). As Morocco does not wish to depend entirely on Algeria – relations

between the two countries have been strained due to the ongoing dispute over Morocco's

Saharan provinces, with Algeria backing the Polisario Front independence movement – the

government has chosen to focus on increasing LNG imports for regasification then sale to

generate electricity. The very ambitious Gas to Power project aims to build an LNG

regasification terminal in Safi, several gas-fired combined cycle power plants with an

installed capacity of 2,400 MW, a gas pipeline and associated facilities. Natural gas is

expected to make up 30% of the energy mix by 2025.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mischliffenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouka%C3%AFmeden

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Potential oil shale reserves in Morocco estimated at 57 billion barrels. Three deposits have

been identified to date. The most promising is Tarfaya, located 890 km southwest of Rabat

and mined using open pits. The other two are Timhadit in the Middle Atlas Mountains and

Tanger.

Morocco also has potential shale gas reserves in the Anti-Atlas Mountains in the country's

southwest. Experts believe that the geological conditions are highly favorable,

although drilling is needed to accurately assess the reserves. According to the United States

Energy Information Administration (EIA), Morocco has 340 billion cubic meters of

technically recoverable shale gas in the Tindouf and Tadla basins. These figures, although

unconfirmed, should be read against Morocco's current level of gas consumption, which

stands at an average of one billion cubic meters per year. The lack of water resources in the

region and current low gas prices could, however, stand in the way of shale gas development.

3. Could this potential decrease the dependence on oil and coal imports?

Several partnership agreements have been signed with foreign firms. While unfortunately

pilot projects are underway, no industrial-scale extraction has begun.

Nowadays Morocco produces only very small volumes of oil and natural gas from the

Essaouira Basin and small amounts of natural gas from the Gharb Basin.

Consequently, Morocco is heavily dependent on imports to meet its energy needs. Fully 91%

of its energy is sourced from abroad, with imports including crude oil, petroleum products,

coal, gas from Algeria, and electricity from Spain via dual interconnectors. No significant

reserves of hydrocarbons have yet been discovered.

Major energy indicators for Morocco between 1990-2014[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gharb_Basin

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4. Demand and supply in energy and economical impact:

Morocco has witnessed a continuous rise in energy demand since the early 20th century,

driven by industrialization, overall economic development, the new Renault plant in Tangier

and Tangier-Med port as key examples , besides other factors like ; modernization ,” rural

electrification (98%),and increased urbanization (60% in 2014, up from 42% in 1981)”[2]

Energy demand is projected to experience a three-fold increase to 2030, especially electricity

demand .Other, more energy intense scenarios, point to an increase in electricity demand up

133.000 GWH in 2030.

Demand has grown by an average of 6% to 7% a year over the last 25 years.

“Energy consumption is also to increase due to new plans launched by the Moroccan

government, all of them implying new energy needs: Plan Vert, Plan Emergence, developing

a world hub for phosphates, and expanding transport infrastructures”. [1]

Consequently, the energy bill has been rapidly rising during the last decades in two

dimensions: the cost of imports represents a significant part of Moroccan trade deficit (oil

imports only represent almost 20% of total imports and 50% of the trade deficit); and energy

subsidies represent a relevant part of budget expenditures (up to 25%).

5. Morocco and the Potential Consequences of Climate Change

New danger has appeared in the form of climate change, threatening the already water-poor

country with potentially catastrophic consequences.

For Morocco, for the moment, climate change has had no observable influence on the water

cycle in Morocco “(the 13% decline in rainfall in the past 30 years is not totally significant)”

[2].

Despite this, the Moroccan government closely monitors water resources in order to detect

any new trends. And regardless of the consequences of climate change.

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“Should current trends continue unchecked, Morocco's Ministry of Agriculture estimates that

there could be a 10% drop in output from rainfalls agriculture, or farming that relies solely on

rainfall for water. Agriculture accounts for 10% of the country's GDP, and still employs 40%

of the working population” [2]

In a show of its commitment, Morocco has hosted recently the COP22 climate conference in

2016, fifteen years after the COP7 in Marrakesh. Morocco strives to lead by example in the

fight against climate change, both by actively participating in all international initiatives and

by taking tangible steps at home, for instance the ban use of plastic bags on first July 2016.

6. Morocco Energy police:

Morocco's energy policy is set independently by two agencies, the Office of Hydrocarbons

and Mining (ONHYM) which sets domestic oil policy and the Office National de l'Electricité

(ONE) which sets policy with regard to electricity. The two major weaknesses of the energy

policy of Morocco are the lack of coordination between these two agencies and the lack of

development of domestic energy sources.

Morocco's goal is to secure the most reliable and sustainable energy supply at the lowest

possible cost.

In response, the Moroccan authorities have rolled out an assertive, ambitious strategy aimed

primarily at developing renewable energies. In doing so, the country has given itself the

resources to accomplish its goals, and is now starting to reap the first rewards.

[2]: the GUARDIAN electronic Magazine, energy, climate change, 2016

[1] Morocco: Indicators for 2014 , International Energy Agency (IEA)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_policyhttp://www.iea.org/statistics/statisticssearch/report/?year=2014&country=MOROCCO&product=Indicators

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7. Morocco's Electricity Mix in 2013

The electricity mix describes what share of various energy sources is used to generate

electricity. Morocco's situation is characterized by a large proportion of coal, and fossil fuels

in general, and only a small percentage of renewable energies, despite a recent surge in wind

power.

Source: IEA, 2013.

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8. Energy Optimization choices for the future generations:

Optimizing the electricity mix is one of the five priorities of Morocco's National Energy

Strategy. The country had installed power generation capacity of 8,160 MW in 2015, which it

plans to develop as part of a coherent, industrially sensible plan.

Hopefully, Morocco has great potential when it comes to renewable energies so; one of the

main focuses of this plan is the development of theses energies, such as hydro, wind and solar

power, and some small initiative to developed nuclear power energy.

Morocco expects to generate 42% of its energy from renewable by 2020, with one-third of

that total coming from solar, wind and hydropower a piece.

The exploitation of this clean energy will also help Morocco to save hundreds of thousands of

tons of carbon emissions per year

1. Hydropower energy:

Morocco currently has installed hydropower capacity of 1,400 MW. This looks set to increase

with new hydropower projects such as:

El Menzel complex south of Fez (125 MW), the mini-hydropower plant (3 MW) program,

and the construction of pumped-storage power plants like the 350 MW Abdelmoumen project

near Agadir.

Pumped-storage plants are a special type of hydropower plant with two reservoirs at different

heights. Water is pumped to the upper reservoir during off-peak times. Then, during periods

of high demand, the water is released through turbines to generate electricity.

In all, Morocco's installed hydropower capacity is expected to rise to 2,000 MW by 2020.

2. Nuclear power:

Morocco is also placing its hopes in nuclear power. Abdelkader Amara, Morocco's Energy

Minister was quoted in October 2015 as saying that Morocco planned to produce electricity

from nuclear energy "starting in 2030". The country currently only has one experimental

2 MW reactor used for research into nuclear medicine. On September 3, 2015, Morocco's

Governing Council passed a decree establishing the Moroccan Nuclear and Radiation Safety

and Security Agency.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/morocco

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3. Wind energy:

Wind profiles – the strength and direction of the wind – in the country's north and south are

particularly suitable for the development of wind power, thanks to the regular, steady breeze.

The initial results are promising. Wind power projects began in the early 2000s and Morocco

now has operational facilities with a combined capacity of 280 MW.

New plants under construction are expected to add another 720 MW. The country is also in

the process of completing its integrated wind power program. Phase 1 is underway with the

construction of the 150 MW Taza wind farm, and a call for tenders for five other farms

(850 MW) has been launched.

The Moroccan Integrated Wind Energy Project

The Moroccan Integrated Wind Energy Project was launched in 2010, with an estimated

investment of MAD31.5 billion (approximately $ 3.7 billion) and aims to:

bring installed wind capacity from 280MW to 2000MW by 2020

increase the share of wind power in the national energy balance to 14 per cent by 2020

achieve a production capacity from wind power of 2MW and annual production

capacity of 6,600 GWh

achieve savings of 1.5 million tons of fuel a year, corresponding to $750 million

dollars and prevent the emission of 5.6 million tons of CO² per year.

Morocco’s Office National de l’Electricité (ONE)

As part of Morocco’s Integrated Wind Energy Project, ONE has tendered for the construction

of five wind farms with a total capacity of 850MW at the following locations:

Tanger II 150MW, Midelt 100MW, Jbel Lahdid (Essaouira) 200MW; Tiskrad (Laayoune)

300MW; and Boujdour 100MW.

ONE is also tendering a 150MW wind farm at Taza, northern Morocco, which will be

constructed on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis.

4. Solar power:

Morocco also has abundant sunshine. The government has decided to harness these

comparative advantages to stimulate development in solar power.

Morocco's preference has gone to concentrated solar power technology, because, in addition

to offering greater stability, the thermodynamic plants have the advantage of being able to

delay power generation by a few hours to meet strong demand in the evening.

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9. Major solar energy projects:

NOUR Ouarzazate:

The Noor One concentrated solar power plant in Ouarzazate is one of the largest solar plants

in the world [1] .

The project is a planned 500MW solar plant which will be among the largest CSP

(Concentrated solar power) plants in the world.

The power station on the edge of the Saharan desert will be the size of the country’s capital

city by the time it is finished in 2018, and provide electricity for 1.1 million people, helping

African country to supply most of its energy from renewable by 2030.

The project is divided into three phases; Noor 1 (160 MW), Noor 2 (200 MW), and Noor 3

(150 MW).

The first section at the town of Ouarzazate provides 160 MW of the ultimate 580MW

capacity. The first solar plants have recently been inaugurated and, once all are complete, they

will spread across 3,000 hectares and feed a total of 500 MW into the grid.

After it is switched on, the plant will initially provide 650,000 local people with solar

electricity from dawn until three hours after sunset.

The project is receiving finance from, amongst others, the World Bank’s Clean Technology

fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

[1]: The GUARDIAN magazine, Article; Morocco lights the way for Africa on renewable

energy, December, 2016

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MASEN ; (the Moroccan solar energy Agency) , has invited commercial bids for Phase 1 a

160MW plant, and final bids to design, build, operate, maintain and finance the plant were

recently submitted. Three groups submitted bids with the following tariffs:

Acwa Power (Saudi Arabia), Aries Ingeniería y Sistemas (Spain) and TSK Electronica

y Electricidad (Spain): MAD 1.597944 (18.87 $ cents) a kWh.

Enel (Italy) and ACS Servicios Comunicaciones y Energia (Spain): MAD2.057201 a

kWh.

Abeinsa (Spain), Abengoa Solar (Spain), Mitsui (Japan) and Abu Dhabi National

Energy Company (UAE): MAD 2.057503 a kWh

DESERTEC project:

A map of the most cost-effective distribution of renewable-energy sources in 2050, based on

simulations run by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research in Karlsruhe,

Germany.[1]

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The DESERTEC concept involves the development of a trans-national super grid that

integrates all types of renewable energies:

Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (CSP) in desert regions

Wind power in coastal areas

hydro power in mountainous regions

photovoltaics in sunny areas

biomass and geothermal power where geographic conditions are favorable

The DESERTEC concept aims to build CSP plants to supply renewable energy from MENA

to European countries using high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines, and

established the industrial initiative Dii (the latter being a consortium of 55 companies

including E.ON, Siemens, Munich Re and Deutsche Bank), which amongst other things will

work towards developing a framework for investments.

Morocco it considered as an active part in this project and showed his interest toward this

initiative. “In 2014 MASEN and Dii signed a cooperation agreement to develop a large solar

project in Morocco, which would amongst other things demonstrate the feasibility of the

export of solar generated electricity to Europe” [1]

Nevertheless, this project didn’t know remarkable success, as announced in some occasions

by Dii, and others parts of the project.

“Desertec Industrial Initiative decided to abandon its mission of industrial lobby promoter

of the exploitation of solar energy in deserts, to become a simple consulting company for its

shareholder companies. Its decision is the logical consequence of the many failures recorded

in the last two years.”[2]

“The great project of supplying Europe with energy produced by solar power plants in the

Sahara seems to be at a standstill” [3]

But, this project still not totally abandoned after the decision of Dii to completely stop its

mission.

“For some people, the shrinking of Dii signaled the demise of Desertec. However, with or

without Dii, the Desertec vision is still going ahead with projects in Tunisia, Morocco

and Algeria” [1]

[1]: new internationalist Magazine, March, 2015

[2]: Moroccan electronic news papers ‘yabiladi’, 15/10/2014

[3]: Electronic newspapers ‘ATAC MAROC ‘ 16/03/ 2015

http://www.ecomena.org/renewables-algeria/

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10. Other initiatives:

Ain Beni Mathar project

Ain Beni Mathar is a 470MW hybrid solar-gas plant which will be located approximately

625 km east of the capital, Rabat. It will be the first plant to be constructed with cylinder

parabolic mirror technology in Morocco. The African Development Bank is financing two-

thirds of the cost of the plant, approximately €187.85 million.

ONEE solar project:

ONEE's (Office of Electricity and Drinking Water) electricity division has already selected

PV technology for a program to build three plants with a total capacity of 400 MW in regions

located at the end of transmission lines. Morocco is also running the PROMASOL program to

install solar water heaters.

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II. Conclusion

Energy Efficiency is another very important element to discuss .The Moroccan authorities are

fully aware of the challenge they face. The country's new National Energy Strategy has made

energy efficiency a national priority.

Morocco has also implemented a range of measures to improve efficiency, including

incentive-based pricing systems, under which households that reduce their consumption by

20% receive a 20% rate discount. Other measures include the adoption of thermal regulations

to cap energy consumption in new buildings, an audit program for existing buildings,

widespread use of energy-saving light bulbs (seven million bulbs delivered to date), the

development of light rail, and an import ban on vehicles older than five years.

While plenty remains to be done, Morocco's energy efficiency program has been praised by

experts around the world. Its goal is to reduce energy use by 12% by 2020, and 15% by 2030.

And economically speaking, RES deployment entails significant opportunities for Morocco in

terms of GDP and employment. In the proposed scenarios, the figures for economic impact on

GDP vary from 1.17% to 1.9% at the end of the period, with employment figures for full-time

equivalent direct and indirect effects on the economy between 267 and 482 thousand jobs.

Results conclude that the alternative that produces more benefits in terms of GDP and

employment growth is the installation of wind, whatever the framework of exports and

imports is contemplated. Obviously.

While there are still a number of unknowns, notably in terms of choice of technology and

project scheduling, Morocco's program is already making its first tangible achievements and

setting an example for other developing economies, particularly in Africa. And has far

reaching ambitions for the renewable energy sector.

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III. References

o Web sites:

1 http://www.planete-energies.com/en/medias/saga-energies/morocco-energy-challenges-emerging-economy

2 https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89nergie_au_Maroc

3 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/04/morocco-to-switch-on-first-phase-of-worlds-largest-

solar-plant

4 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/nov/17/cop22-host-morocco-lights-way-africa-

renewable-energy-2020

5 http://www.femise.org/en/studies-and-research/renewable-energies-and-sustainable-development-in-the-

mediterranean-morocco-and-the-mediterranean-solar-plan-msp/

6 http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/66419/renewable-energy-in-morocco

7 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/26/morocco-poised-to-become-a-solar-superpower-with-

launch-of-desert-mega-project

8 https://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/30166/desertec-industriels-quittent-definitivement-navire.html

9 http://attacmaroc.org/fr/2015/03/16/desertec-accaparement-des-sources-denergie-renouvelable/

10 https://newint.org/features/2015/03/01/desertec-long/

11 http://www.desertec.org/

12 https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/country-data/morocco-gdp-country-report

o AGENCES:

(ONEE) (Electric Power Department of the Moroccan National Electricity and Drinking Water Board)

(MASEN) (Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy)

(MENEE) (Moroccan Ministry of Energy, Mines, Water and the Environment)

International Energy Agency (IEA)

The world bank PDF :

o PDF : ‘Les énergies renouvelables et l’efficacité énergétique au Maroc‘- published by Ministère fédéral de

l’Economie et de l‘Energie

http://www.planete-energies.com/en/medias/saga-energies/morocco-energy-challenges-emerging-economyhttps://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89nergie_au_Maroc3%20%20%20%20https:/www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/04/morocco-to-switch-on-first-phase-of-worlds-largest-solar-plant3%20%20%20%20https:/www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/04/morocco-to-switch-on-first-phase-of-worlds-largest-solar-planthttps://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/nov/17/cop22-host-morocco-lights-way-africa-renewable-energy-2020https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/nov/17/cop22-host-morocco-lights-way-africa-renewable-energy-20205%20%20%20%20%20http:/www.femise.org/en/studies-and-research/renewable-energies-and-sustainable-development-in-the-mediterranean-morocco-and-the-mediterranean-solar-plan-msp/5%20%20%20%20%20http:/www.femise.org/en/studies-and-research/renewable-energies-and-sustainable-development-in-the-mediterranean-morocco-and-the-mediterranean-solar-plan-msp/http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/66419/renewable-energy-in-moroccohttps://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/30166/desertec-industriels-quittent-definitivement-navire.htmlhttp://attacmaroc.org/fr/2015/03/16/desertec-accaparement-des-sources-denergie-renouvelable/https://newint.org/features/2015/03/01/desertec-long/http://www.desertec.org/

1. Geography and climate : Geography: Climate:

2. Morocco’s energy potential in oil and coal:3. Could this potential decrease the dependence on oil and coal imports?4. Demand and supply in energy and economical impact:5. Morocco and the Potential Consequences of Climate Change6. Morocco Energy police:7. Morocco's Electricity Mix in 20138. Energy Optimization choices for the future generations:1. Hydropower energy:2. Nuclear power:3. Wind energy:4. Solar power:

9. Major solar energy projects:10. Other initiatives: Ain Beni Mathar project ONEE solar project: