Green mosques and buildings

Project description

Title: Employment promotion through energy efficiency and renewable energy in mosques
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Morocco
Lead executing agency: Ministère de l’Energie, des Mines et de l‘Environnement (MEME)
Overall term: 2015 to 2021

Context

Developing renewable energy and promoting the wider use of energy-efficient technologies are among Morocco’s top political priorities. The potential for business and employment in these areas is not, however, being fully harnessed. Many decision-makers, prospective customers and the general public are unaware of the advantages of renewable energy and the potential for saving energy. The demand for such services has therefore so far been low. Moreover, the expertise required is often not available.

With its Green Mosques and Buildings project, the Moroccan Government aims to promote the dissemination of technologies for energy efficiency and renewable energies and to create jobs. The project is based on the Moroccan Green Mosques development programme launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Religious Affairs in cooperation with the state energy investment company (Société d'investissement énergétique, SIE) and the Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency (Agence Marocaine pour l’Efficacité Energétique, AMEE).

Objective

Moroccan companies benefit from new market opportunities. Additional jobs for skilled workers are available. The population is sensitised to the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energies.

Approach

The Green Mosques project contributes to Morocco's energy transition and climate protection with a three-pronged approach.

First of all, energy consumption in mosques and other public buildings needs to be reduced.

Public institutions are introducing energy management systems and modernising their buildings to make them more energy-efficient, for example by introducing LED lighting or solar thermal systems. In future, they will make their decisions on priority measures to reduce energy consumption on the basis of systematic data collection and analysis. In new constructions, the developers will integrate energy efficiency standards.

The population is also being sensitised to the issues of energy efficiency and renewable energy. This is to be done primarily by the individuals working in the renovated buildings, including imams and women preachers in mosques, as well as the employees at AMEE.

In addition, new jobs are to be created. Moroccan entrepreneurs receive technical and entrepreneurial training in order to increase their competitiveness in the new business sector and tap into new market segments. At the same time, jobseekers are being trained in a targeted manner to fill vacancies or to become self-employed.

The project is part of the special initiative designed to stabilise and promote development in North Africa and the Middle East run by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Through the projects that make up this special initiative, BMZ is helping to open up economic and social prospects for people in the region. Between 2014 and 2022 more than 70 additional development projects are being carried out under this initiative. The thematic focus is on youth and employment promotion, economic stabilisation, democracy and stabilising neighbouring countries in crisis situations.

Results

• So far, 293 additional jobs have been created with project support. 
• More than 890 mosques have already been upgraded in terms of energy efficiency. In the first approximately 100 upgraded mosques, energy savings of 41 to 63 per cent were achieved in the first year.

• An energy-plus mosque was supported in the village of Tadmamt: It produces more energy than it consumes.
• In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, activities have been launched to improve hygiene and water efficiency in mosque washrooms and sanitary facilities.
• Together with four other institutions (the postal services, student dormitories and the Ministry of Energy and Economic Affairs), the project has introduced energy efficiency measures and has so far achieved energy savings of more than 15 per cent.
• With the support of the project, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and AMEE have drawn up a guideline. It presents arguments for energy efficiency and the increased use of renewable energies from a religious perspective. More than 800 imams and women preachers use it to pass on the knowledge they have acquired about energy efficiency to their communities. 
• One Website and a Facebook page with nearly 20,000 followers have been created to spread the information.

Last updated: May 2021