Essaouira, Morocco, is using renewable energy to become self-sufficient in energy by 2023

The initiative will employ renewable energy to make the city self-sufficient by 2023. The “Jbel Lahdid-270 MW wind farm” project in Morocco’s Essaouira has begun construction.

The ‘Jbel Lahdid-270 MW wind farm’ project in Morocco’s Essaouira has begun construction.

According to negotiations held at the prefecture’s headquarters with several public and commercial partners, work on the project is set to begin next week. The project is expected to be completed in 25 to 26 months, allowing it to be ready in 2023.

‘Lights are green to start,’ During the discussion, the governor of the province, Adil El Maliki, emphasized the importance of reaching the project deadline.

The “Jbel Lahdid” wind farm will provide Essaouira with 100 percent renewable electricity.

Thus, the project will require a about MAD 3 billion ($328 million) investment and will generate 270 MW via fifty turbines.

This project’s energy yield is 900 GWH/year, contributing to Morocco’s anticipated installed wind power capacity of 5GW by 2030.

In addition, 300 to 400 temporary employments will be created during the building phase, with more than 20 permanent jobs created throughout the operation period.

This Essaouira-270 MW wind farm is part of the 850 MW integrated wind farms program that joins together the “Midelt-210 MW”, “Boujdour-300 MW”, “Jbel Lahdid-270 MW”, and “Tiskrad- Tarfaya-100 MW” wind farms.

The new wind farm should bring Morocco towards its objective to achieve 52% renewable energy goal by 2030.

In its October 2021 list of the top 40 nations with the most viable potential for sustainable energy investment and development, British audit firm Ernst & Young (EY) ranked Morocco as the most appealing site for renewable energy investments in the MENA region.

In 2020, World Bank senior energy specialist Mark Leybourne stated that Morocco had a “great” offshore wind resource that is “too alluring to ignore,” confirming the firm’s results.

The expert emphasized that Morocco has significant potential for growing its wind energy capacity, implying that the North African country is prepared to become a major provider of electricity to the European market.