Masdar Solar Home Systems to provide 99% of rural Morocco with electricity
Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, Masdar announced on Wednesday the partnership with Morocco’s Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable (National Electricity and Water Supply), ONEE, to design, supply and install 17,670 Solar Home Systems across 940 villages in the Kingdom of Morocco. When complete, the solar homes, along with broader electrification initiatives, will result in 99 percent of rural Morocco having access to energy by the end of 2017 – a critical resource that underpins economic development.
H.E Dr. Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, UAE minister of state and chairman of Masdar, and Ali Fassi-Fihri, director general of ONEE, signed the agreement in Casablanca, Morocco.
The Solar Home Systems are being delivered by Masdar Special Projects – a division of Masdar Clean Energy – that has expertise in deploying renewable energy solutions to remote, rural communities, often under challenging conditions.
Masdar and ONEE will work closely to design, supply, install and commission the Solar Home Systems. For an initial two-year period, Masdar will provide maintenance and operational training, a responsibility which ONEE will take over and maintain.
Each Solar Home System consists of 290-watt solar panels, which charge two batteries with sufficient storage capacity for three days. To maximize the economic and social impact of the project, Masdar and ONEE will seek locally sourced materials and employ local contractors for the installation and maintenance of the solar systems.
Morocco is an early adopter of renewable energy. With ambitious clean-energy targets, and large solar and wind power potential, Morocco is one of the Middle East and North Africa’s most promising markets. In fact, the government aims to install 2 gigawatts of solar energy by 2020, which will represent 14 percent of the country’s total installed capacity.
Source: Masdar and ONEE Partner to Deliver Electricity to 940 Remote Villages in the Kingdom of Morocco Press Release by Masdar. Image Credit: Masdar.
