Renewable energy and energy efficiency promotion

Project description

Title: Promoting renewable energy sources and energy efficiency for sustainable development in Morocco
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Morocco
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Energy, Mines, Water and the Environment (MEMEE) of the Kingdom of Morocco
Overall term: 2008 to 2014

Context

The demand for energy is rising steadily in Morocco, in particular the demand for electric power. The causes driving this development include economic growth, advancing industrialisation, greater prosperity and a growing population. Since 2004, annual growth rates in electricity consumption have averaged 7%. Power generation is primarily fuelled by fossil energy sources such as coal, natural gas and heavy fuel oil.

The country possesses virtually no fossil fuels of its own and therefore relies on imports for 95% of its fuel supply. These energy imports negatively affect Morocco’s trade balance, while energy subsidies are a burden on the national budget. Forecasted demand will cause Morocco’s greenhouse gas emissions, currently still low, to rise considerably.

Nevertheless, the nation can succeed in reducing its dependence on energy imports and fostering a more sustainable energy supply by tapping into its enormous potential for renewable energy use and by targeting greater energy efficiency. The energy strategy unveiled in 2009 provides for the proportion of renewable energies in Morocco’s overall energy mix to be increased from 4% to 28% by 2020.

In early 2010, the Renewable Energy Act was passed and the Agency for Development of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (Agence pour le Développement des Energies Renouvelables et de l’Efficacité Energétique – ADEREE) was founded. The Energy Efficiency Act followed in late 2011. The new legal framework remains ineffective, however, as it is still too limited in scope. In addition to this, no implementing decrees have been issued, roles and responsibilities remain inadequately defined, and there is no appropriate implementation strategy setting out how funding programmes will be administered.

Objective

Morocco has more effective legal, institutional and technical instruments and capacities at its disposal, as well as qualified personnel and a funding system, which will help the country make greater use of renewable energy and improve energy efficiency.

Approach

Together with its partner ADEREE, GIZ is pursuing an integrated concept that combines policy advisory services, sectoral and technical support and capacity building, and includes knowledge transfer and networking of applied research on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Its efforts focus on the following priority areas:

• supporting the Moroccan Ministry of Energy, Mines, Water and the Environment (MEMEE) in developing and implementing ordinances, legislative amendments, regulatory frameworks and funding programmes;

• strengthening the institutional capacity and management competence of ADEREE and MEMEE, both in terms of organisational structure and sectoral expertise;

• helping public and private actors gain greater knowledge of energy potentials and possible applications in the fields of renewable energies and energy efficiency; supporting ADEREE in the development of local projects;

• training professors and networking Moroccan universities and schools of engineering both with each other and with their European counterparts so as to increase cooperation in teaching and applied research.

Results achieved so far

Through the energy strategy of 2009 and the energy acts of 2010 and 2011, which were developed with the support of GIZ, the foundations have been laid for expanding the use of renewable energies. However, some key elements of the strategy are still in the development phase. These include regulations on grid access, the opening of the low-voltage grid and strategies for promoting individual technologies.

The existing renewable energies technology centre is to become a fully-fledged national energy agency with a remit covering not only renewable energies but also energy efficiency. The agency started operating in 2012. The process of transforming the former Centre for the Development of Renewable Energy (CDER) into ADEREE is now in its second phase. A new organisation chart was drawn up in 2010, and work is currently under way to establish efficient management processes and technical training. ADEREE staff have already been able to increase their technical know-how by participating in training events, in particular in the field of energy efficiency.

Since mid-2009, the project has been assisting the Ministry in introducing a management model. More than 200 members of staff have taken part in courses on process-oriented working methods in state institutions.

The results of the study on biomass potential in the Sous Massa Drâa and Oriental regions have been presented to the project’s regional partners. Based on these results and in cooperation with the local actors, ADEREE is currently carrying out viability studies on the most interesting potential projects, which are intended to become investment projects. The study on the potential of decentralised photovoltaic systems has fundamentally changed Moroccan attitudes towards photovoltaics. An amendment to the Renewable Energy Act to incorporate photovoltaic electricity generation is currently under consideration.

In 2009, a review of teaching and research activities at Moroccan scientific institutions in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency was carried out. In April 2010, the first national conference on the foundation of a Moroccan-European competence network took place, attended by all the institutions. Based on the outcomes of this conference, a series of training events for professors was developed, which has been running since early 2012. The seven seminars, focusing on various technologies and on issues such as grid integration and energy storage, provide professors with the opportunity to increase their knowledge and help the institutions set up strong research networks and competence centres.