Morocco imports 97% of its electricity, which weighs heavily on the national budget and commercial balance in a period when energy demand rises by 7% annually. According to the scenarios elaborated by the Ministry of Energy and Mines for the new energy strategy, the electricity consumption is expected to be multiplied by a minimum factor of 4 and maximum factor of 6 during the period between 2008 and 2030. The overall power consumption could accordingly reach between 12,000 and 20,000 MW in 2030, which means that Morocco will need to almost quadruple its current capacity to meet that demand.

The building sector consumes 36% of the total energy generated, from which 70 % is dedicated to cooking, heating and cooling. The air conditioning market is developing fast in the residential sector; one-fourth of tertiary buildings have installed air conditioning systems. Urban population is expected to increase 150% by 2030, increasing not only urban energy consumption, due to a growing demand on air conditioning.

In this context Morocco’s energy challenges are characterized by increasing CO₂ emissions and ambitious goals to achieve electricity system stability and reduce energy import dependence.

Improving energy efficiency and increasing energy generation from renewable sources are a priority in the new national energy strategy. Among the main targets mentioned in this energy strategy are a reduction of 12-15% in the primary energy consumption and 42% electricity generation coming from renewable sources by 2020.

National Steering Committee (Project Steering Committee)

The Committee includes the Municipality of Marrakech, the AIH (Hotels Association of Marrakech), RADEEMA (local water and electricity utility company) and the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment. They meet once a year with the role to validate the assessments performed under the Initiative and provide guidance to the expert working group.

National Partners

• Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency (AMEE): in charge of coordinating and engaging local stakeholders in the project

• CLEAN TECH: a local engineering consultancy company in charge of the data collection.

Expert Working Group

The group is consisted of Politecnico di Milano, Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency (AMEE), CLEAN TECH and the Copenhagen Centre of Energy Efficiency with specific contributions from Engie.

If the above do not exist, please describe how DEinCities is working with partners on the ground, or plans to work with partners.

In November 2016 Morocco selected Marrakech to be the Initiative’s champion city.

Funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Protection of Land and Sea, Morocco joined the Initiative at COP22, supported by the city of Marrakech, the Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency, the Italian Ministry, and UN Environment.

The assessment phase, where Initiative experts assess the possibilities for district energy implementation and renewables integration, among other things, was launched in May 2017 and is being implemented by Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with the Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency. The results of the rapid assessment were validated by local stakeholders and potential investors during a workshop in Marrakech on June 25, 2018. The second phase, which includes a techno-economic feasibility study of a potential project, was initiated in June 2018. With this project, the Initiative aims at proving the commercial viability of district cooling systems in the North-African region. The study will also evaluate the potential contribution of district cooling systems to refrigerant phasing out under the Montreal Protocol and Kigali Amendment. Final results will be presented in a validation workshop at the end of January 2019.

(work in progress)