EBRD helps Morocco assess its renewable energy injection capacity

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has issued a tender to select consultants that will have to provide assistance to Morocco’s government for the assessment of the country’s power system to absorb more power injected by renewable energy power plants.

The EBRD said that selected consultants will have to assist the country’s grid operator, ONEE in assessing the capacity of the very high voltage (VH) and high voltage (HV) networks, as well as of the medium voltage (MV) and low voltage (LV) grids, to absorb increasing volumes of power supply from renewable energies.

“The assignment aims to ensure that the network injection capacity will be sufficient to preserve the VH, HV and MV networks’ security and balance and that the power generation and transmission system performance will not be technically and economically degraded once new renewable energy generation centers are commissioned,” the EBRD said in its statement.

The EBRD explained that the assessment of Morocco’s grid capacity is part of its energy strategy aimed at increasing the share of renewables in its total installed power generation capacity to 42% by 2020, and to 52% by 2030.

Morocco is currently building one of Africa’s largest solar energy projects, the 580 MW Ouarzazate Solar Power Station (OSPS), a CSP-PV solar power complex located in the Drâa-Tafilalet region, central Morocco.

According to a recent report from the U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA), Morocco aims to increase its current installed capacity, which is around 6.5 GW, to 14,5 GW by 2020. Of this, 2 GW is expected to come from solar and wind. The country has a solar radiation of about of 5 kWh/m2/day.