Solar Server, International Correspondent Christian Roselund (Aug. 20, 2012) – Interview with Saïd Mouline, Director of the Moroccan agency of development for renewable energies and energy efficiency (ADEREE):
Solar Server: Can you talk a little about ADEREE, its origins, and its work?
Saïd Mouline: Morocco has been involved in renewable energy for 30 years. But a new approach was developed two years ago. It was decided then at the highest level of the state to give priority to renewable energy and energy efficiency in our energy policy. At the same level, we had created a renewable energy development center in 1982.
This center worked many years for the development of technologies, looking at sites, looking at different applications, mainly for rural electrification, communications, solar pumping. Then, in the 1990′s, we started looking at the wind regime in the country, and we developed ambitious wind measurements.
ADEREE is the agency overseeing the development of renewable energy. We look at the resources: wind, solar, biomass. And we are also following the strategy, looking at buyers that can start some projects. We also propose the development, to change some laws, dedicated to that.The implementation was done by the utilities, who had the monopoly of producing electricity in the country through their own power plant or private ones with a power purchase agreement. In 2010, it was decided to create a separate entity, MASEN, dedicated to the solar program for the development of power, in particular the 2 GW program that will be implemented on five different sites in the country. So they took over the mission of the utilities.
Concerning the wind program, we have a utility program, but we also have a private program. Today, it is because we changed the law concerning the grid access for any renewable energy project, to also allow for small applications concerning renewables.
So, with this strategy, we have a strong proactive policy, with support at the highest level of the state.
We also have some strong targets, 42% for renewable energy in 2020. Which means from 2 GW today, we are going to reach 6 GW by 2020, mainly by adding solar and wind power.
And of course, we transformed the renewable energy development center; ADEREE is in charge of the development of local resources for renewable energy, and also for training, looking for how to implement training in this field, as we have also a strategy for industry in this field, and we need to develop a new training program for that.
ADEREE is deeply involved in energy efficiency and the transport of electricity. When you are talking about renewable energy you want at the same level to develop efficiency programs. When we talk about solar energy, we are also talking about solar water heaters and other implementation.
Said Mouline, Director, Morocco’s Agency of Development for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (ADEREE)
In addition to MASEN, there is another actor, SIE, The Energy Investments Company – the prime investor within the framework of the Moroccan energy strategy. SIE was created in February 2010 in compliance with the objectives of the national energy strategy aiming to diversify resources, the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency. We also have an organization, IRESEN, dedicated to R&D in this field.
With all of this, all of the actors have specific roles. That is why, when you are talking about MASEN, as the agency for solar energy, it operates more as a company, because they are able to produce energy. ADEREE are not producers, rather it is the agency for development for renewable energy.
We are really a team, we are all working together. I am in the board of SIE, which is in the board of MASEN, so everyone is linked. Overall it’s a huge program for the country.
Morocco’s strategy is to develop such projects not only for environmental issues. We have a context, which is that we are very energy dependent, and we are looking to renewable energy projects for development of the country, with industry and job creation, and for our energy independence. It’s not only a matter of producing energy, it’s a new way of having more impact on our economy from the energy sector.
Until today, the energy sector was really a burden for our economy, because of energy bills, because also of some subsidies in this field. With our energy strategy, we need to change that.
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Saïd Mouline is Director of the new Moroccan agency of development for renewable energies and energy efficiency (ADEREE). Mr. Mouline is an engineer specializing in development projects in the sectors of energy and environmental protection. He is a graduate of the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, he is the former Chairman of the Commission on Sustainable Development in the CGEM and the Moroccan Center for Clean Production and Member of the Federation of Energy.
He was also advisor of the President of Sustainable Development OCP and consultant for national and international organizations (Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, UNDP, World Bank, IFC, GIZ, KfW). Mr. Mouline was previously the Managing Director of the National Agency for Development of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and President MEDENER, the association of national agencies for energy efficiency in the Mediterranean.
