The Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Ms. Leila Benali, signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, regarding a roadmap for sustainable electricity trade between Morocco, France, Germany, Spain, and Portugal, on the sidelines of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, hosted by Egypt (November 6–18).
This memorandum of understanding aims to strengthen the strategic partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and its European partners in the energy sector, and is part of the Roadmap for Sustainable Electricity Trade, established by Morocco, France, Germany, Spain, and Portugal during the COP22 conference held in Marrakech in 2016, which aims to open these countries’ renewable energy markets to one another.
This agreement follows the signing of the joint declaration in Brussels in December 2018, which outlines plans to remove commercial and physical barriers to corporate power purchase agreements; this memorandum will enable continued efforts toward the integration of green electricity markets across the five countries.
In this regard, Ms. Benali said in a press statement that the Kingdom had signed an important agreement with Germany, France, Spain, and Portugal to develop energy cooperation and electricity exchange, adding that Morocco is working to launch two new power transmission lines to Europe, one with Spain and another with Portugal, bringing the total number of electricity interconnections with Europe to four.
Benaali added, “We are currently in the planning phase for the two new lines, but the most important thing is building trust. When we export electricity to France, Germany, Portugal, or Spain, we need to ensure that this electricity comes from green and sustainable sources,” noting that this agreement includes a roadmap for solar energy projects in the Kingdom.
She explained that Morocco is working to achieve its ambitious goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in its energy mix from the current 40% to more than 52% by 2030.
It should be noted that the signing ceremony was attended by Mr. Yoshin Flasparth, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany; Mr. Stéphane Crousat, France’s Ambassador responsible for negotiations on climate change, renewable energy, and climate risk prevention; Ms. Manuela Franco, Ambassador of Portugal to Egypt, Alvaro Iranzo Gutierrez, Spain’s Ambassador to Egypt; Christian Berger, Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt; Nasser Kamel, Ambassador and Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean; and Paul Nomba, Regional Director for Infrastructure for the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank.
Sarah Al-Ramshi
