A nine billion dollars large-scale solar energy project was presented in the southern city of Ouarzazat. In presenting this project, the Moroccan Energy Minister Amina Benkhadra said our goal is to achieve a 2,000-megawatt capacity by 2020. She also said that this production capacity accounts for 38% of the electric power reached at the end of 2008 and 14% of that expected in 2020.

The managing director of the National Electricity Office (ONE), Ali Fassi Fihri, said that this large-scale project will ensure an annual production capacity of 4500 GW, that is to say 18% of the current national production. The project is also expected to economize the equivalent of 1 million tons of oil a year and avoid the emission of 3.7 million tons of CO2, he added.

“Thanks to the use of solar energy, this project will contribute to the reduction of energy dependency, the preservation of the environment, the diminution of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the fight against climate change,” Fassi Fihri underlined.

Morocco’s energy expenses weigh heavy on the government’s budget. This is why making the production of energy, especially the renewable energy, is one of the country’s priorities.