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Wednesday, 1 February 2023

Spain set to ink renewables agreements with Morocco today

Spain targets renewables during Morocco visit: Spain will extend a EUR 800 mn credit line to Morocco and sign 20 MoUs including renewable energy development agreements, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is expected to announce today, Bloomberg reports. Sanchez kicked off a two-day high-level meeting visit to Rabat yesterday alongside 12 ministers from his cabinet to mend strained diplomatic ties.

Clean energy on the agenda: Joint development of solar energy and green hydrogen appear to be in the pipeline along with collaborations in Morocco’s agricultural sector and desalination projects, Moroccan news outlet Medias 24 reports.

And Morocco already has links in place: Morocco is well positioned to export both renewable energy and green hydrogen to Spain, with existing links connecting the two countries, according to a European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) report. Two direct grid lines run between Spain and Morocco with a third interconnection line set to be operational by 2026, allowing the transfer of renewable energy from Morocco, according to the report. The existing Pedro Duran Farell natural gas pipeline between Morocco and Spain could help facilitate the transport of future green hydrogen across the Mediterranean, the report adds.

The kingdom is already attracting other hydrogen seekers: Morocco signed a partnership agreement with Germany to build a 100 MW hydrogen plant in Morocco in 2020 and signed an agreement with Portugal in 2021 to develop green hydrogen, according to the ECFR report. India’s Adani Group was exploring the feasibility of hydrogen production in the country last November, having previously indicated it could invest in 10 GW of renewables projects to supply green ammonia.

Which is good news for the kingdom’s energy targets as Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch recently stated that renewables are set to account for 50-52% of Morocco's energy mix by 2030.

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