Investments
Clean Energy RD&D investments
Morocco’s National Energy Strategy sets an ambitious target to generate 52% of energy from renewable sources by 2030. To meet this target, the government aims to create an additional 10 GW of installed renewable capacity approximately. As a result, several opportunities for investment in clean energy RD&D are emerging. The country also believes that the economic recovery amid the covid pandemic will only be possible through a strong support to the green economy and clean energy.
Morocco is therefore actively seeking to increase investments in clean energy by providing incentives to the private sector, attracting national and international investors, and leading the way with public investments in clean energy. Moroccan institutions operating in clean energy RD&D are indeed aiming to increase their financial and HR capacity by 2030.
In late 2020, green financing facilities with a total of €253 million were made available by international organizations to local businesses to invest in green technology. The first facility is the Green Value Chain programme, worth €90[1] million and focused on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises’ investments in energy and resource efficiency measures. Second is the Green Economy Financing Facility in Morocco. This programme aims to provide up to €163[2] million to hundreds of private companies through credit lines via local financial institutions. It will support climate mitigation, climate adaptation and the adoption of green technologies.
Morocco’s investment plan for the energy sector, spanning from 2016 to 2030, will require approximately €33 billion of funding, of which electricity generation derived from renewable sources will account for 75% of the total[3].
With the above-mentioned initiatives and more to come, Morocco’s annual clean energy RD&D expenditures could be increased by 30% over the next five years, the baseline being 10 million euros per year in 2020 (estimate numbers).
[1] Source : EBRD, https://ebrdgeff.com/morocco/the-programme/the-facility/
[2] Source : EBRD, https://www.ebrd.com/news/2020/ebrd-eu-and-partners-support-green-investments-in-morocco.html
[3] Source : Oxford Business Group, https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/analysis/viable-alternative-plans-add-10-gw-power-renewable-sources-2030