Abu Dhabi: Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, has installed 50 per cent of the solar home systems that are part of an project to provide electricity to rural Morocco, the company said on Saturday.
The installation of 9,000 out of 17,670 systems across 940 villages comes only a year after the partnership agreement was signed between Masdar and Morocco’s Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable (ONEE).
The Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, Mohammad Jameel Al Ramahi, said: “The UAE and Masdar are pleased that our partnership with ONEE is realising one of the largest and most innovative solar home installation projects, which is having a transformative impact on hard-to-reach communities throughout the country.”
The project is expected to be fully completed by the second half of this year. All of the 290-watt solar home systems are designed, supplied and installed under a project that is being executed by the Masdar Special Projects team. Along with other local initiatives, the full installation will result in 99 per cent of rural Morocco having energy access by the end of 2017.
Storage capacity
Each of the installed systems consists of 290-watt solar panels and batteries with sufficient storage capacity for three days, thus ensuring uninterrupted power supply. In addition, the systems include energy-efficient appliances such as LED lamps and a 165 litre refrigerator.
Morocco is considered one of the Middle East and North Africa’s most promising renewable energy market, with the government already committed to securing 42 per cent of nation’s energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Masdar, owned by Mubadala group, has committed more than $1.7 billion (Dh6.2 billion) to renewable energy developments, with those investments helping to deliver nearly 1 gigawatt of clean power in the UAE and many countries across the globe.
