Morocco to deploy 400 MW of wind power through a public-private partnership
As part of a public-private partnership (PPP), two wind farms will be built in northern Morocco. This promise has been made by the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN), which is launching the pre-qualification process for this 400 MW project.
The share of wind power in Morocco’s electricity mix is set to soar in the coming months. That, in any case, is the objective of the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN), which has just launched the pre-qualification process for the selection of a private company to support the implementation of the 400 MW Nassim Nord wind power programme.
The Moroccan government’s initiative involves the construction of two wind farms. Named Nassim Dar Chaoui, the larger wind farm will be located between the provinces of Tangier and Tetouan, in northern Morocco. Masen is aiming for an installed capacity of 250 MW. The second is an extension of the Nassim Koudia Al Baida wind farm, which is already injecting 100 MW of clean electricity into Morocco’s national grid.
The extension project will increase its capacity to 250 MW. Developers interested in building the two 400 MW wind farms have until 24 June 2024 to apply. The company selected at the end of the tender process will be responsible for the development, financing, construction and operation of the two wind farms. “By structuring it as a project financing scheme, this new programme will encourage greater involvement of the private sector in the deployment of renewable energies, with the participation of Moroccan and international commercial banks in its financing”, says MASEN.
The Moroccan agency also believes that the Nassim Nord wind power programme will enable the Cherifian kingdom to move “at high speed towards achieving its objectives of decarbonising the electricity system by anticipating the achievement by 2030 of an electricity mix in which at least 52% of the capacity is of renewable origin”. According to Morocco’s National Electricity and Water Office (ONEE), just over 2 GW of the country’s installed capacity of 11.4 GW in 2023 will be generated by wind farms.
