Energy is a strategic factor for economic development. Morocco is still largely dependent on energy imports, more than 90%. To reduce its energy dependence, in 2009, Morocco adopted a strategy to increase the share of renewable energies in the installed electrical power to 52% in 2030. Its strategic location allows Morocco to be an electrical hub between Europe and Africa.
Achieving energy security is considered the top priority for Morocco, especially in the current situation characterized by the high price of petroleum products at the global level, and its impact on the national energy bill following the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Renewable energy projects in Morocco are made possible thanks to the establishment of an appropriate legislative, regulatory and institutional framework, which Morocco continues to update, in order to make the renewable energy sector more attractive to private investment. Morocco has become among the leaders (South Africa and Egypt) of renewable energies in Africa.
Also, Morocco has developed an integrated water desalination program with power plants backed by renewable energy production units, as well as an ongoing preparation of a marine energy roadmap.
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The south of Morocco benefits from an exceptional source of renewable energy and will experience, over the next decade, the development of a large portfolio of wind projects.
The south of Morocco benefits from an exceptional source of renewable energy and will experience, over the next decade, the development of a large portfolio of wind projects. The transport of this energy to the centers of consumption requires the reinforcement of the 400kV alternating current network in southern Morocco and the subsequent increase in the transit capacity of this network so as to ensure the transfer of electricity production of renewable source projects under development to the national electricity grid.
The greater increase in electricity consumption in Mauritania has prompted it to take an intensifying interest in the development of the production of electricity through renewable resources. A target of 129 MW has been set for wind technologies by 2030.
Since 1997, the Moroccan electricity network has been connected to the Spanish homologous, the continental connection with to the Mauritanian one will constitute a model of regional integration which will modify the characteristics of Atlantic Africa.
Mauritania shares similar wind resources with southern Morocco, mainly for the northern coastal zone. The installed wind power in Mauritania is 34.4MW. The renewable energy project, including wind power, is a model for the integration of South of Morocco and North of Mauritania.
The 100 MW Wind Farm of Akhfennir 2 in Morocco (Courtesy: Nareva)The study of the characteristics of the wind speed and the evaluation of the wind potential available at a given site depend on the duration and the step of measurement, thus the amplitude and the nature of the variation of the wind speed. For example, for the site of Tangier, North-West of Morocco, it has been shown that the minimum period of hourly measurements that can be considered is nine years with four measurements per day (0h, 6h, 12h and 18h) in order to properly estimate the wind speed (Histograms, frequencies, daily, monthly variations, etc.).
The North of Mauritania shares with the South of Morocco similar wind resources mainly for the coastal zone.
August and July are the windiest months for Laayoune and Dakhla, respectively, with monthly averages of 7.67m/s and 10.12m/s. For Laâyoune, the maximum speed is 34 m/s, while it is 27 m/s for Dakhla. The variation in wind speed is more regular for the Dakhla site. For Lagouira, June is the windiest month, the daily average wind speed is between 7.9 m/s and 10.7 m/s for 27 days. On the other hand, for December, the least windy month, it is only 5 days, so 19 days have an average between 5.4 m/s and 7.9 m/s.
For most of the sites considered, the wind is strong during the day and reaches its maximum around 4 p.m., local time, and weak at night. This phenomenon is mainly explained by the influence of the gradual rise in temperature over the course of the day on the Atlantic coast causing local winds (sea/land breeze) which are added to the winds from the Azores.
The available wind potential is greater for the sites of Dakhla in southern Morocco and Nouadhibou in northern Mauritania where a 100MW wind farm has been planned to be installed. For Dakhla, at an altitude of 10m, the annual average of available wind potential is the highest (P=462 W/m2), almost double that of Laâyoune and four times that of Tan Tan.
In 2021, the wind power installed in Morocco amounts to 1350 MW, of which more than 60% (757.3 MW) is located in the south of Morocco. The Tarfaya wind farm 301.3 MW) is the largest wind farm in Morocco and Africa, installed in 2014. The installed wind power in Mauritania is 34.4MW. The first 4.4MW park installed in Nouakchott in 2011.
In perspective for the South of Morocco and the North of Mauritania, wind energy is an alternative and competitive source of energy to petroleum products for the generation of electricity.
The renewable energy project, including wind power, is a model for the integration of southern Morocco with northern Mauritania. In the end, the development of wind energy has important economic and social implications for southern Morocco and northern Mauritania, in the context of advanced regionalization, to take on the role of a real development pole.
