The share of renewable energy in the national electricity mix reached 35% at the end of 2018, with an installed capacity of more than 2,965 MW, said, Wednesday in Rabat, minister of Energy, Mining and Sustainable Development, Aziz Rabbah. The ministry is working to develop an additional capacity of about 10,000 MW of renewable energy, divided into 4,500 MW solar, 4,200 MW wind and 1,300 MW hydroelectric by 2030, Rabbah noted at the opening of a media day initiated by the ministry. In order to achieve the objectives set within the set deadlines, the ministry, in coordination with all partners and actors in the energy sector, has activated programs and reforms as part of the energy strategy, he said. Morocco, he stressed, is committed to an energy transition that translates into a very satisfactory electricity reserve margin and a reduction in energy dependence from 98% in 2008 to around 93% currently, mainly due to the rise in renewable energy. In this regard, the minister stressed the importance of activating the energy strategy to meet the constraints of growing demand, noting that reducing the external energy dependence rate is mainly based on the development of renewable energy, energy efficiency and the promotion of regional integration. He also highlighted the continuous evolution of energy demand over the last decade, with an annual rate of about 4.1%, emphasizing the high energy dependence (93.3% in 2017), with a bill reaching 69 billion dirhams in 2017. Regarding energy efficiency, the main energy consumers are the transport sector (38%), followed by the construction sector (33%) and the industrial sector (21%), he pointed out, recalling that the draft national energy efficiency strategy, prepared and presented to the government Council in June 2017, proposes programs that will achieve an energy saving of around 20% by 2030, targeting the most energy consuming sectors.
