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Under an optimistic model, decentralised renewable energy systems (DRES) could generate 66.8 TWh with an installed base of 28.58 GW, representing an economic market of $31.08 billion (286.45 billion Moroccan dirhams), according to a Moroccan-based climate think tank.
"The scenario modeling in the report shows that the potential for decentralised renewable energy in Morocco in 2035 is substantial," said Imal Initiative for Climate and Development in its report titled 'The Potential of Decentralised Renewable Energy Systems in Morocco.'
“There is a need to rapidly integrate renewable resources to decrease the nation’s dependence on expensive fossil fuels.
Rooftops across Moroccan cities could generate between 20 and 67 terawatt-hours (TWh) of clean electricity by 2035, depending on the scenario.
"That is the equivalent of 8.6 to 28.6 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity and a potential market worth nine to $31 billion," said the Imal report.
To meet rising demand, Morocco should expand the usage of DRES to allow homes, farms, and businesses to produce, store, and even sell their own electricity.
The report also pointed to the growing role of electric mobility, noting that by 2035, Morocco could have around 2.5 million electric vehicles, in line with the projections of the National Low-Carbon Strategy 2050.
This fleet would provide a mobile energy storage capacity of approximately 39,420 GWh, equivalent to 91 percent of the country's projected electricity demand for 2035 (43,145 GWh).
This stored energy could support the national grid through bidirectional charging technologies and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) systems.
Rooftop solar, as evaluated in this report, could cover 59 percent to 98 percent of the charging demand for these vehicles in the optimistic and median scenarios.
The DRES sector could generate 13,000 to 43,000 jobs over the next decade, the report concluded.
(Writing by N Saeed; Editing by Sona Nambiar)
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