The General Director of the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), Tarik Hamane, and the Ambassador of the United States to the Kingdom of Morocco, Puneet Talwar, presided over the inaugural session of a technical workshop titled “Desalination: Latest Developments and Perspectives” on Tuesday in Rabat.
Organized as part of the cooperation between ONEE and the U.S. Embassy in Morocco, this event featured high-level presentations from two renowned American experts in the field of sustainable water resource management and gathered around a hundred Moroccan and foreign participants specialized in the water sector, according to a statement from ONEE.
In his opening speech, Mr. Hamane emphasized the central role of ONEE in achieving Morocco’s strategic objectives regarding water and energy resource management, in accordance with the High Guidelines of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him.
In this regard, he recalled that due to the increasing demand and decreasing natural water supplies, exacerbated by climate change, Morocco is increasingly turning to unconventional water resources such as seawater desalination.
The ongoing desalination program will raise the current desalination capacity of approximately 270 million m3 per year, produced through 16 desalination plants, to nearly 2,100 million m3 per year by 2030, of which nearly 1,200 million m3 per year will be for drinking water. This will increase the share of drinking water supply provided by seawater desalination to 55%, compared to only 10% currently, he explained.
He also noted that ONEE is leveraging its expertise of over 47 years in the field of desalination and currently has 12 seawater desalination plants with a production capacity of over 85 million m3 per year, adding that this capacity will be increased by approximately 940 million m3 per year by 2030, with nearly 800 million m3 per year for drinking water through 9 new desalination plants, 2 of which are under construction (Casablanca and Sidi Ifni plants).
According to Mr. Hamane, ONEE must innovate to meet current and future challenges in water and energy and accelerate the transition to more sustainable and resilient models, calling for the development of strategic collaborations with international partners to share the latest technological advancements in this area, hence the significance of this workshop led by internationally renowned American experts addressing important themes related to desalination, including cost reduction and coupling with renewable energies.
For his part, Mr. Talwar stated that the United States is proud to collaborate with Morocco on innovative solutions for water resource management, particularly in the field of desalination, noting that this partnership reflects the shared commitment of both countries to sustainable development and addressing the challenges posed by climate change.
This workshop is an opportunity not only to share cutting-edge technologies but also to strengthen ties between the United States and Morocco to support resilience and ensure a future with sufficient water resources, he added.
During this inaugural session, Mr. Rick Warner, an expert in strategic growth in the water sector, provided insights into new innovative solutions for water resource management in a scarcity situation. Meanwhile, Dr. Val Frenkel, an expert in desalination, emphasized the latest technological, economic, and institutional innovations in water desalination while sharing the experience of the United States, as some states face a situation similar to Morocco, in addition to lessons learned in performance and cost optimization.
On the sidelines of this workshop, participants visited the Bouregreg drinking water treatment plant and the central laboratory of ONEE, which highlighted the efforts made by the Office in supplying drinking water in the Kingdom.
Held from December 2 to 6 at ONEE, this international exchange workshop constitutes a valuable opportunity to learn about American expertise in sustainable water resource management, with a particular focus on strategic themes such as coupling desalination with renewable energies, of which ONEE is a global pioneer, reducing production costs, direct abstraction of raw water, its exploitation, and maintenance.
The event will also explore innovative solutions, such as remineralization using calcite filters, the statement concluded.