Current Date:

Sunday, 08 October 2017
 

MOROCCO BEQUEATH ENERGY LESSON TO AFRICAN COUNTRIES

(Moses J. Ntandu, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) - The major challenge to African countries is lack of reliable electricity energy

where Sub Sahara Africa still lacking 60% of electricity in 2020.
This is also said that 9 in 10 people in Africa live without access to electrical a thing which causes lack of improvements in industries which lead to pull down the development and stability in African economy.
Many African countries have reliable sources of energy and good environment for investing in different ways of energy like hydro power, solar power, wind power and even other sources of power like coal and gas and petroleum.
The power generation in Africa though still have some steps to go with many challenges of technology and expertise from the modern and developed countries. Morocco is one of the African countries but it has tried the best of improving this sector for short period of time.
Now I can dare say that many of African countries have a lot to learn from Morocco in this field so as to see rapid changes in reliable and availability of electricity from different sources so as to contribute to the development and African economy.
The good news to all African countries is that the Moroccan government is organizing an international third edition of the so called Photovoltaica International Solar Energy Exhibition and Conference in Morocco which will bring together all African countries for the discussion of the solar energy issues. 
The aim of the conference is to ensure the respect of the objectives of its national strategy; Morocco allowed the development of renewable energies, a new and essential sector to its economic growth, taking into account the different experiences of other countries. For this reason, the conference Photovoltaica was set up.
The objective of the conference is also to become a forum that will allow researchers, companies, entrepreneurs, the authorities and other agencies whether in national or international level to exchange their ideas, their point of views and experiences so that they can contribute to the development of the renewable energies in Morocco and Africa at large, and specially the solar photovoltaic.
The participation of all African countries experts, researchers and entrepreneurs in that conference will give experience and lesson from to all countries in Africa which will be gathering in Morocco as evoking experience and exchanging of ideas to each other for this important sector.
Apart from learning from other countries still the participants will get chance to learn direct from the indigenous the Moroccan expertise and their technology as a benefit from what they have been doing and what they have done to bring major changes to their technology and services to the public and production of the nation.   
The Moroccan government have a lot of solar energy projects with major production of energy, like the NOOR Ouarzazate with capacity of 510 MW CSP and 70 PV, the NOOR Tafilalt and Atlas capacity of 300 MW PV, the NOOR Midelt 300 MW CSP and 300 MW PV, the NOOR Laayoune and Boujdour 100 MW PV, NOOR Tata 300 MW and 300 MW in CSP PV and solar power plants in the economic zones 150 MW PV. All these are the big solar projects in the Morocco
All this is to Promoting renewable energy to the public and to businesses, Reduce electricity bills of customers, Contribute to the preservation of the environment, Reduce the production of electricity from fossil fuels.
However, the achievements for strengthening electric Production and Transport capacity in Morocco were scheduled during the 2009 to 2015.
The national primary energy demand grew on average by nearly 5% in recent years, driven by growth in electricity consumption which has increased on average by 6.5% per year due to the almost widespread of rural electrification and the dynamism of our economy, especially the policy of major projects in infrastructure, industry, agriculture, tourism and social housing.

To meet this growing demand of energy, an energy strategy was adopted in 2009 under the High Guidance of His Majesty Moroccan King, and based on the major objectives of ensuring security of supply, expand the access to energy at optimized prices, mobilize domestic energy resources, primarily significant potential in renewable energy, promoting energy efficiency, integrate Morocco in the regional energy system and apply upstream of environmental protection regimes in all energy activities.
This strategy is a positive way that other African countries that can lean and adopt so as to make sure that the power shortage in Africa is resolved abruptly because the geographical environment in our continent is friendly to all sources of the energy projects.
The projects which were implemented by the Moroccan government have managed to make the country achieve an additional capacity of 2760 MW of energy between 2009 and 2015.
Achieving an amount of 2760 MW for renewable energy for only six years is a successful one and is a good lesson to other countries in Africa and it is a time now to start implementation same project as what Morocco did in that great energy revolution.
The energy sources which contributed to the said energy in Morocco are all available everywhere in Africa like Diesel plants, Gas Turbine, Wind farms, solar thermal plants and Hydraulic complex.
More over an electric transport in Morocco of 3753 km of high and very high voltage lines was achieved between 2009 and 2014. Thus, the total of high and very high voltage transmission lines in Morocco reached 23, 331 km at the end of 2014.
In the side of Wind Energy the Moroccan project of wind energy is 2,000 MW, the wind power project is part of the energy strategy drawn in accordance with the High Royal Directives. This project involves the setting up of 2,000 megawatts by 2020, for an annual production of 6600 GWh, which corresponds to 26% of our current electricity production.
It allows saving 1.5 million TOE annually or 750 million US Dollars per year and avoiding the emission of 5.6 million tons of CO2 per year. The identified sites for the integrated wind project of 850 MW in Morocco are Tanger II 100 MW, Jebel Lahdid 200 MW, Midelt 150 MW, Tiskrad 300 MW and Boujdour 100 MW.
All African countries have advantages to share and learn from this trend of Morocco on improving energy sector where a large number of the people in African countries are said to ba in blackouts, so by following Moroccan stapes Africa will shine.
ENDS