Project Focus: Morocco to undertake $9 billion solar energy project

Morocco is going to be the next country to undertake an ambitious solar project. Theirs is slated to be worth $9 billion and is anticipated to produce 38% of the country’s installed power generation by 2020. According to Reuters.com, Energy Minister Amina Benkhadra announced that the project will have five solar power generation sites throughout Morocco and will produce 2,000MW of electricity by 2020.

At the ceremony to introduce the project to the public, Benkhadra was joined by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Moroccan king. Benkhadra noted that the funding for said project would be a combination of private and state capital. "This is a bold but realistic project. We will guarantee all the technical and financial resources to make it succeed," Benkhadra said, "We look for the most sophisticated technology available in the world to use for this project.”

Because Morocco is the only North African country that does not produce its own oil, it is enthusiastic to find a way to cut its oil and gas imports and has turned to renewable energy for the solution. No date was announced for the start of the solar project