Three sources familiar with Morocco's largest planned solar project announced that the reason for the years of delayed execution is a dispute over concentrated solar power technology, especially after this technology caused prolonged electricity production halts at another prominent station. Morocco has set one of the most ambitious green energy goals of any developing country, aiming for renewable energy sources to represent 52% of installed capacity by 2030, compared to the current 37.6%, through investments primarily in solar and wind power plants. However, Morocco is already lagging in solar energy, having only established 831 megawatts so far compared to the 2,000 megawatts planned for 2020. Wind energy has compensated for some of the shortfall, but coal-fired plants, which are harmful to the environment, still constitute most of the production.
The sources noted that construction has not yet started on the Noor Midelt 1 plant, which was scheduled to be operational this year, because the Ministry of Energy and the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water, which operates the grid, rejected the proposed concentrated solar power technology. The plant’s estimated cost is $2 billion with a capacity of 800 megawatts. In 2019, the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen) awarded the development contract for the Noor Midelt 1 project to a consortium led by EDF Renewables.
The agency requested that the plant incorporate both photovoltaic technology, which is cheaper but has low energy storage capability, and concentrated solar power technology, which is more expensive but can continue to supply the grid for hours after dark. However, the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water and the Ministry of Energy stated after the contract was awarded that they would only agree to purchase energy if the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy abandoned concentrated solar power in favor of photovoltaic technology or switch from thermal salt energy storage to batteries, sources reported.