A milestone on Morocco's path to a sustainable energy supply

What initially seemed visionary is now well on the way to becoming reality. We are talking about Morocco's plan to obtain more than half of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030 - but preferably sooner. The commissioning of the Jbel Lahdid wind farm in the province of Essaouira in October 2024 has brought the country a good deal closer to achieving this goal. The 54 new wind turbines installed by Siemens Gamesa on a total of three mountain ridges between the coastal towns of Essaouira and Safi will significantly increase the proportion of renewable energy even further.

Jbel Lahdid as part of a larger concept

The plan was developed back in 2009 as part of a broader strategy. Morocco, which has few raw materials, obtained almost all of its primary energy from abroad at the time. However, importing oil, natural gas and coal is expensive and jeopardises the country's industrial development. For this reason, King Mohammed IV had a new energy supply strategy developed for his country. The aim: more independence, lower costs and an improved CO2 balance.

The expansion of renewables soon took centre stage. And for good reason: Morocco lacks fossil fuels, yet solar energy is more than abundant in the North African country. Wind energy can also be utilised reliably and all year round, especially in the coastal regions on the Atlantic. Accordingly, the government presented a solar plan in 2009, followed a year later by the wind energy programme.

KfW financial partner from the very beginning

KfW supported the expansion of wind energy right from the start. It not only financed Morocco's first pilot wind farm. By providing subsidised loans amounting to 200 million euros, it is also making a significant contribution to financing a total of two wind energy sites in Morocco. Other European financing partners are the European Investment Bank, which is providing a loan of 200 million euros, and the European Union with a grant of 15 million euros. The total costs for the construction of the two wind farms are estimated at 520 million euros. The coordination of the international financing lies with KfW as the lead financier.

Morocco's national energy and water supply authority - the Office National de l'Electricité et de l'Eau Potable (ONEE) - is the project organiser for the wind farms. Public Private Partnerships (PPP) have been planned from the outset for the implementation - an approach that has paid off so far. This is because the private companies are not only contributing their expertise through the PPP. They also contribute fresh capital to the project companies and thus contribute to their financial stability. Nareva (Morocco) and ENEL Green Power (Italy) won the international tender as private project developers. The Spanish-German wind power specialist Siemens Gamesa is responsible for the construction of the wind turbines.

The new wind farm can supply a city of millions

Almost 15 years after the first plans to utilise wind power on Morocco's coasts, it is clear that the investments have paid off: Wind farms with a total capacity of 2,400 megawatts have been built - that's just under half of the energy that Morocco generates from renewables in total. The new Jbel Lahdid wind farm built by Siemens Gamesa alone contributes 270 megawatts to the overall balance.

Experts expect the site to generate around 950 gigawatt hours of energy per year - equivalent to the electricity consumption of a city with a population of around one million, such as Fès or Marrakesh and Tangier. The plant will also make a significant contribution to climate protection: the new wind farm is expected to save almost 600,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year. This is around a fifth of the total CO₂ reduction that experts have calculated for the time after the finalisation of all Moroccan wind farms.

Population also benefits

Numerous other sectors are benefiting from the installation and commissioning of Jbel Lahdid. Siemens Gamesa has manufactured some turbine components in Morocco - creating jobs in the country. A further 500 jobs have been created through the construction and operation of the wind farm. Finally, the newly built infrastructure also benefits a large number of people in the region. The project company has built a total of around 70 kilometres of new roads. These not only connect the turbines to the general transport network, they also link 14 rural communities with each other, giving them better opportunities for development.

What was once a visionary idea is now actually reducing CO₂ emissions and helping to improve the living conditions of many people. The financing of the wind farms by European institutions also pays off for the industry of the donor countries. Siemens Gamesa has supplied and installed a total of 100 wind turbines as part of the project. In the future, the electricity generated under these excellent conditions could even help to produce green hydrogen in Morocco and supply it to Germany. While this is still a vision, it might also become a reality some day – at least the pipelines are already being planned.