In February 2019, the Ministry of Energy published the results of a study it had commissioned on the energy recovery of biomass. It emerged that this sector could create more than 10,000 jobs and promote up to 8.5 million tonnes of GHG emission reductions by 2030. The details.
Following the recommendation of biomass as the fourth source of clean energy production in Morocco by the Sovereign, the Ministry of Energy launched a study on the potential of biomass, the results of which were presented in February 2019. According to the conclusions of the study, Morocco can well capitalize on the energy recovery of biomass to reduce its GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, in accordance with the commitments of its NDC (determined national contribution).
Interesting potential
Indeed, the study showed that the Kingdom has a primary energy production of 11.5 million MWh/year, distributed between agriculture, with 6.6 million MWh/year, green waste ( 3 M MWh/year), forestry (1.7 M MWh/year) and wastewater (0.2 MWh/year). With, by geographical production area, the region of Fez-Meknes which produces the most (1.8 M MWh/year), followed by Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Marrakech-Safi and Casablanca-Settat (1.3 M MWh/ year each), and Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (1.2 M MWh/year). In short, according to the study, this sector could create more than 10,000 jobs and promote up to 8.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2030.
Promising prospects
Following the encouraging results of the study, several meetings were organized by the ministry and the stakeholders (ONEE, CGEM, Amisole, etc.) to build a roadmap for this renewable energy source. These meetings were thus opportunities to discuss various outstanding issues. For example, how much should biomass contribute to energy production alongside solar, wind and hydro? What place should be given to the private sector and to the territories, some of which are involved in a delegated management system? What is the link with Law 28.00 on waste management and destruction? And how did the Department of Energy plan to articulate and deploy this mechanism, which is closely linked to waste recovery and the circular economy? All this without forgetting collection, management of controlled landfills and integration into the national production system.
Several challenges to overcome
The Minister at the time had thought of setting up an observatory dedicated to the energy recovery of biomass, to facilitate access to information relating to legislative, regulatory and normative texts, technological processes, as well as energy and economic performance, without forgetting the technology watch and the possibility of capitalizing on existing experiences. On the regulatory level, he had asked his teams to integrate the development of this new sector into the reforms undertaken by his Department to improve the legislative and regulatory framework governing renewable energies and the development of self-production. He also called for developing the standardization of equipment, strengthening national skills in this area, promoting the profession of energy specialist constantly confronted with rapid developments in energy technologies and integrating information technologies into the monitoring of systems. energy. On arrival, still no roadmap on the valorization of biomass, which has been forgotten with the emergence of Morocco’s ambitions on green hydrogen. Another source of renewable energy where Morocco could capture 2 to 3% of the world market estimated at 200 billion dollars by 2030.
Aziz Diouf / ECO Inspirations