An investment of nearly 30 billion dirhams (MMDH) in the national electricity transport network has been allocated for the period 2024-2030, “not including the additional high-voltage electricity interconnection project of 3 GW between the South and the Center of the Kingdom,” said the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, on Monday in Rabat.
In response to oral questions in the House of Representatives regarding “the strategy for developing and promoting investments in clean energies,” Ms. Benali emphasized that, for the first time, the private sector will have the opportunity to invest in this network “if necessary.”
Various projects in the field of renewable energies, with a capacity of over 2,000 megawatts, have been authorized during the current government’s mid-term, the minister recalled, mentioning the approval of new projects for a total investment of over 19 MMDH, in addition to the creation of more than 300 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs.
She added that strategic measures have been taken to reduce the cost of energy, notably by improving the governance of the energy sector through the establishment of an institutional framework to support the challenges and developments in the sector, as evidenced by the profound reform of the National Electricity Regulatory Authority (ANRE) and the expansion of its competencies to include all components of the energy sectors, as well as the acceleration of the accounting separation between the production, transport, and distribution activities of the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water and investment in electricity networks.
Among these measures is also the acceleration of investments in the field of renewable energies, with an installed electrical capacity that has reached 5.4 Gigawatts (GW), the minister continued, noting that “the renewable energy projects currently in operation have contributed to covering nearly one-fifth of national electricity demand.”
She added that an additional capacity of over 9 GW has been scheduled for the period 2023-2027, with a budget of nearly 90 billion dirhams, pointing out that the pace of investments in renewable energies has more than quadrupled annually and will be intensified to exceed the set objectives.
Furthermore, Ms. Benali indicated that her department has made significant changes during the current government term, particularly through accelerating the pace of work, simplifying procedures, promoting investments, creating jobs, as well as establishing an adequate regulatory and institutional framework and an integrated program for the necessary infrastructure, in accordance with the High Royal Guidelines to ensure efficient management of the energy transition.
In this regard, special attention has been paid to reducing processing times for the majority of procedures and steps, in addition to their digitization to ensure greater transparency, she explained, expressing satisfaction that 42 decisions regarding investment projects have been made within a timeframe not exceeding 30 days, including for renewable energy projects.