The National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) plans to build a gas-fired power plant with a capacity of 990 megawatts (MW) in northern Morocco, with an estimated budget of 4.15 billion dirhams (420 million dollars).
The financing of the project will be covered 20% by ONEE, while the remaining 80% will come from loans granted by Attijariwafa Bank and Bank of Africa, as well as financial support from the securitization funds FT Nord Energy and FT Flexenergy, according to documents recently published by the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC) and reported by Reuters.
The future plant will be located at the Alwahda site, near a pipeline used since 2023 for the import of natural gas from Spanish terminals. The project will include two open cycle gas turbines (OCGT) and will be able to operate on diesel in case of emergency.
This initiative is part of Morocco’s strategy to diversify its energy sources, complementing its transition plan towards renewable energies, which aims to reach 52% of installed capacity by 2030, compared to 45% currently.
Moreover, the country plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Nador West Med port, which will be connected to the same pipeline to strengthen national energy security. In 2024, Morocco’s total energy production capacity was 11,918 MW, dominated by coal, according to Reuters.