Posted by: Bloomberg Markets
Morocco attracted bids from France’s Engie SA and EDF Energies Nouvellesto build 800 megawatts of solar power as the North African country seeks to curb energy imports.
Morocco, on the western fringes of the Middle East, is joining a regional push to expand in renewables. The country imports almost all its energy and has scant reserves of oil and natural gas, unlike neighboring Algeria and Egypt. In an effort to cut purchases from abroad, it plans to produce more than 40 percent of its electricity from renewables by the end of the decade.
Development banks are likely to provide financing and a bond sale is also an option, according to Amrane. Morocco plans to have 6 gigawatts of installed renewables capacity — including solar, wind and hydropower — by 2020, he said, adding that the country anticipates “a lot of innovation” and lower prices in the battery market as the use of intermittent renewables grows.
By: Mahmoud Habboush — With assistance by Anna Hirtenstein, and Francois De Beaupuy