Some 1,000 villages in Morocco were supplied with green energy at the completion of a project jointly carried out by the Abu Dhabi-headquartered Masdar and the Moroccan Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable (ONEE).
The initiative, named Morocco Solar Home System (SHS), has provided off-grid solar power to 19,438 households in the North African kingdom.
Each home has been fitted with 290-watt solar panels as well as batteries with a three-year life span.
The installed systems also include LED lamps as well as a 165-litre refrigerator.
Each homeowner will contribute a small monthly fee for the technology’s upkeep.
Through the project, the North African country, which has stood out as a leading renewable energy advocate on the African continent and around the world, will be able to provide energy to 99 per cent of its rural communities, acting director-general of ONEE Abderrahim El Hafidi noted.
“These remote, off-grid communities are often faced with challenging conditions in energy access, but this initiative is providing over 95,000 people with electricity through customized renewable energy solutions,” Hafidi said.
The completion of the SHS project was announced Sunday on the sidelines of the 8th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) held in Abu Dhabi Jan.12-14.
The session, attended by over 1,000 government and corporate officials from 150 countries, discussed opportunities and challenges in the renewable energy sector.
Morocco plans to bring the share of renewable energy in overall electricity production to 42% by 2020 and 52% by 2030. It has earmarked a global $30 billion budget to that effect.
The UAE on its part decided to increase its target for the contribution of renewable energy to the national energy mix from 24 per cent to 27 per cent by 2021. The UAE Energy Plan 2050 aims to bring up the proportion of clean energy to 50 per cent.
