Morocco is promoting its first offshore wind farm

The implementation of this new offshore wind farm complex off the coast of Essaouira, promoted by the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN), promises to be one of the leading projects in Morocco's energy sector, and one of the most innovative and capable of its kind in the world. 

The Moroccan kingdom is working harder to capitalise on its vast resource potential. Investments in green hydrogen, wind and solar power consolidate Rabat's shift in energy production, part of Morocco's plan to wean its economic and energy dependence from fossil fuels to less than 47%. 

With a 20.6 million dirham investment from the European Investment Bank (EIB), Morocco will take a major step towards its goal of zero carbon emissions by 2030. The entity led by Nadia Calviño, former vice-president of the Spanish government, clarified that the contract will have a duration of two years, with the possibility of review at the end of this. 

The Moroccan kingdom is aware of the power that the geographical conditions in which it is located give it. The vast Atlantic coastline offers ideal conditions for the installation of energy production complexes. 

The currents, such as those of the Gulf and the Canary Islands, which are generated in the vicinity of the Atlantic coast that bathes the country's beaches, are the main reasons why Essaouira was chosen as the site for the country's first offshore wind power plant. 

According to World Bank figures, the plant is expected to have a large offshore wind energy potential, with 200 GW available, of which 22 GW is optimal for fixed-bottom turbines, as explained in the latest renewable energy development report. 

Wind power already generated more than 2,500 people across the country last year, a figure that will increase when the new Essaouira plant is completed. 

Following the success of the plants in Portugal, located off the coast of Viana do Castelo, and France, on the coast of Brittany, Morocco decided to follow in their footsteps. Successful models are the main focus of study for Moroccan agencies at the international level. 

However, in Spain, the Ministry for Ecological Transition started in February a public hearing for the draft Royal Decree regulating the production of electricity from offshore installations. The lack of maturity of the Spanish market is causing the non-investment of several of the most important multinationals in the manufacture and implementation of offshore wind turbines, such as Orsted and Equinor. 

Internationally, the countries with the best offshore wind farms in the world are the United Kingdom, with 2 of the 5 largest farms, Denmark, which has the most modern system for harnessing energy in its turbines, and Germany, 80% of whose wind energy is produced from the sea.