SeeNews
by Mariyana Yaneva
In a move to boost investment in the renewable energy sector, Moroccan government on Tuesday approved a bill to amend the existing 13-09 law on renewable energy development.
When adopted, the new law, bill number 58-15, will allow renewable energy producers to sell surplus electricity to establishments connected to the high voltage or very high voltage grid of ONEE, the state owned utility responsible for the provision of electricity as well as the operation of the transmission system.
The proposed changes will also raise the minimum capacity of hydro power projects to 30 MW from 12 MW at present.
Morocco’s national energy strategy is targeting to raise the share of renewable energy to 42% of the total installed capacity in the country by 2020, with solar, wind and hydro each contributing 14%.
The country has several big projects ongoing in the solar, wind and hydro sector.
The Noor concentrated solar power complex is projected to have total installed capacity of 500 MW with the first 160 MW starting production by the end of this year.
On the wind side, there are several independent power producers. The latest 300 MW project was commissioned at the end of 2014 bringing the total installed capacity to 787 MW and Morocco is expected to launch a further 850 MW wind power tender by the end of 2015.
While awaiting take-off of investments in the hydro segment, ONEE plans to invest MAD 400 million (USD 41.3m / EUR 36.7m) to extend the life of existing hydro power production facilities and also conduct a detailed feasibility study for future projects.
(MAD 10 = USD 1.033 / EUR 0.917)
by Mariyana Yaneva
Mariyana is a founding member of the SeeNews Renewables team. With eight years of professional experience in renewable energy she has built strong expertise in the wind industry and Eastern Europe markets.
