Morocco a Destination For Solar Energy
Spain is becoming a hub for expanding renewable energy. Investments are coming from trans-Atlantic and Trans-Mediterranean as the economy grows green.
The recent investment in South America by Spain is considered as minor in respect to expansions in the western hemisphere. BBVA is providing additional fund to Spain to expand, and the lender is being backed by economies such as Chile, Venezuela and Colombia. The Spanish economy was severely affected by the recession especially in the field of construction.
Spain is seeing that there is a market much closer available, which is Morocco. In the coming years, Morocco can provide extensive amount of energy.
Position of Morocco
Geographically, Spain and Morocco are just opposite following the Strait of Gibraltar. However, the economies are incomparable. Morocco has an economy, which is 19 times less than that of Spain. This economic gap accounts for a difference in the volume of energy consumption. In Spain, as much as 10 times more energy is required than in Morocco. The energy supply in Morocco is actually extremely ineffective. However, in this year, 2010, Morocco is going for solar energy.
Across Europe, there have been strong government policies to stimulate renewable energy. In Madrid, solar power modules were offered competitive subsidies. Similar feed-in tariffs have been offered in Germany and for wind energy in Denmark. The core objective of government policies is to make renewable energy competitive with fossil fuels.
From the period 2007 to 2008, the solar capacity in Spain grows with around 380%. This was acquired through government subsidies. However, in 2008, limits were set to national solar subsides to 500 MW of energy per year. This restriction was definitely bad news for module supplier such as China’s Yingli Green Energy and Germany’s Q-Cells
The market shrunk in 2008 as the credit crunch affected multinationals around the globe. There was a decrease in investment and a growth in unemployment. However, a year after Morocco considered colar energy as an opportunity. Morocco does eventually import 95% of its energy requirements. Now it is going to construct a 500 MW concentrating solar power plant.
According to Moroccan Energy Minister Amina Benkhadra bids will be placed during this month (Feb, 2010) for the project. It is highly possible that Spain can be seated as a major producer; this will change its orientation from a consumer to a power supplier.
Using uninhabitable land wisely
These large-scale solar power plants use extensive arrays of land. The desert used in Spain for solar power plants are uninhabitable. It does though make sense to use them for energy projects. However, it will take time to construct 500 MW of energy plants. Japan is also interested in Morocco; they are already planning to establish a $7.4 million PV plant with some social objectives as well attached such as creating water access.
According to a recent Greentech Media reports, many companies (Cuantum Solar, Siliken, and Fotowatio) in Spain are heading towards the U.S market to account for the weak Spanish market. These companies will certainly be interested in these projects.
However, Morocco is similar to North Africa and Middle East. According to a recent announcement on the World Economic Forum, it was stated that “Not investing in Africa is like missing out on Japan and Germany in the 1950s, Southeast Asia in the 1980s and emerging markets in the 1990s.” This implies that Morocco is not the only ideal location for solar energy to take new heights.
Morocco is nowadays definitely the amidst the poorest energy neigbours to Europe. However, Spain can likely make this a forgotten fact. It can even be integrated into the EU’s Desertec plan, which is expected to supply 15% of energy required by Europe from MENA region by 2050. The resources and possibility for the Desertec plan is highly feasible with all resources available.
article first published at Renewable Power News
Jimmy Eriksson contributed to this report. He is a professional freelancer in Green Technology and Scientific Development. Educational background in the field of Human Resources Management.
