ONEE has just commissioned the 270 MW Jbel Lahdid wind farm, in the Province of Essaouira. With this new achievement, the total renewable energy capacity of the Kingdom of Morocco now reaches 5,440 MW, including 2,400 MW of wind origin, which represents 45% of the national electricity production capacity.
Tarik HAMANE, Director General of ONEE declared: “ With the commissioning of the Jbel Lahdid wind farm, we mark a new stage in our commitment to strengthening the Kingdom’s energy independence and supporting the fight against climate change. Our country continues to move forward has high speed towards achieving the ambitious objective of 52% renewable energies in the energy mix, well before 2030. We reiterate our determination to actively support this transition in accordance with the High Directives of His Majesty the King ».
Located along the Essaouira – Safi national road, the Jbel Lahdid wind farm is installed on three ridges and equipped with 54 turbines of 5 MW each, several components of which were manufactured in Morocco. It will have to produce around 952 GWh per year, or the electricity consumption of a city of 1.2 million inhabitants, such as Marrakech, Fez or Tangier. That is to say a reduction in CO2 emissions of 580,000 tonnes per year.
The Jbel Lahdid wind farm enabled the opening of several road accesses with a length of 74 km connecting more than 14 rural communities as well as the creation of more than 500 direct jobs, thus contributing to the socio-economic development of the region.
Developed within the framework of a public private partnership (PPP) with the companies Nareva Holding and Enel Green Power, the Jbel Lahdid wind farm project represents a total investment of approximately 3.25 billions by DH. The project benefited from concessional financing mobilized by ONEE from International Financing Institutions (KfW and EIB) and the European Union.
