5 FROM FUEL-POOR TO RADIANT: MOROCCO’S ENERGY …
133
Outside Forces and Influences
in Morocco’s Energy Transition
Although renewable energy development is a project indigenous to
Morocco, outside forces play important roles in Morocco’s energy transition, including financing from development banks, international climate
change negotiations, German energy policy goals, and initiatives to
integrate the EU and North African power grids.
Financing
Obtaining financing from private companies, development banks, and
climate change initiatives is both a goal of Morocco’s renewable energy
policy and an outside influence. When Morocco began to expand and
transition its electricity sector, it suffered from a lack of capital and foreign
direct investment for energy development. Today, capital needs for electricity infrastructure are estimated to be $30 billion. 79 If rents are defined
as a source of income for the state from external sources rather than
from taxes, all of the external sources of grants discussed in the following,
including aid from the Gulf states and the provision of cheap capital to
the Moroccan state, are by definition rents.
While the Moroccan government hopes to secure more private funding
for energy development, the first major CSP projects have required public
funding, with some private funding secured as a consequence of the
multilateral development financing. 80 The Noor Ouarzazate CSP plant
was financed by KfW Development Bank ($884 million), the European
Investment Bank ($473 million), the African Development Bank ($135
million), the European Commission ($122 million), the French Development Agency ($68 million), the World Bank ($400 million), the Clean
Technology Fund ($238 million), and the borrower ($357 million). 81
Additionally, the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety provided EUR 15 million through its
International Climate Initiative. According to a MASEN interviewee,
the concessional financing interest rate of 3.5%, as opposed to a nonconcessional rate of 8%, reduced ACWA Power’s bid for the electricity
price by 20%. Some people I interviewed from EU countries criticized
Morocco for choosing CSP in spite of its higher cost. MASEN has added
more solar PV arrays to its solar plan, including Noor Atlas (200 MW),
Noor Argana (120 MW), and Noor Tafilalet (200 MW), as well as
133
Outside Forces and Influences
in Morocco’s Energy Transition
Although renewable energy development is a project indigenous to
Morocco, outside forces play important roles in Morocco’s energy transition, including financing from development banks, international climate
change negotiations, German energy policy goals, and initiatives to
integrate the EU and North African power grids.
Financing
Obtaining financing from private companies, development banks, and
climate change initiatives is both a goal of Morocco’s renewable energy
policy and an outside influence. When Morocco began to expand and
transition its electricity sector, it suffered from a lack of capital and foreign
direct investment for energy development. Today, capital needs for electricity infrastructure are estimated to be $30 billion. 79 If rents are defined
as a source of income for the state from external sources rather than
from taxes, all of the external sources of grants discussed in the following,
including aid from the Gulf states and the provision of cheap capital to
the Moroccan state, are by definition rents.
While the Moroccan government hopes to secure more private funding
for energy development, the first major CSP projects have required public
funding, with some private funding secured as a consequence of the
multilateral development financing. 80 The Noor Ouarzazate CSP plant
was financed by KfW Development Bank ($884 million), the European
Investment Bank ($473 million), the African Development Bank ($135
million), the European Commission ($122 million), the French Development Agency ($68 million), the World Bank ($400 million), the Clean
Technology Fund ($238 million), and the borrower ($357 million). 81
Additionally, the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety provided EUR 15 million through its
International Climate Initiative. According to a MASEN interviewee,
the concessional financing interest rate of 3.5%, as opposed to a nonconcessional rate of 8%, reduced ACWA Power’s bid for the electricity
price by 20%. Some people I interviewed from EU countries criticized
Morocco for choosing CSP in spite of its higher cost. MASEN has added
more solar PV arrays to its solar plan, including Noor Atlas (200 MW),
Noor Argana (120 MW), and Noor Tafilalet (200 MW), as well as