| MASEN | |
| Type: | Limited company |
| Founded: | 2010 |
| Hq Location City: | Rabat |
| Hq Location Country: | Morocco |
| Key People: | Mustapha Bakkoury (CEO) Obaid Amrane (Member of the board) |
| Industry: | Renewable energy |
| Products: | Noor Ouarzazate I Noor Ouarzazate II Noor Ouarzazate III Noor Ouarzazate IV Noor Laayoune Noor Boujdour |
| Subsid: | Masen Services Masen Capital Cluster solaire Alsolen |
| Owner: | Moroccan State represented by Mohamed Benchaâboun, Minister of Economy and Finances The Hassan II Fundsrepresented by Abdelouahed Kabbaj, as its president ONEE represented by Abderrahim EL HAFIDI, as the Executive Director Abdelouafi Laftit, Interior Minister Saaïd Amzazi, Minister of the National Education, the Vocational Training, the Higher Education and the Scientific Research Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Minister of Investment, Trade and the Digital Economy Aziz Rabbah, Minister of Energy, Mines and Sustainable Development Lahcen Daoudi, Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of General Affairs and Governance Mustapha Bakkoury, Chief Executive Officer The Direction of Public Compagnies and Privatisation of the Economy and Finances Ministry (DEPP) |
| Website: | www.masen.ma |
Masen, the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy, is a privately owned Moroccan company with public funding. It was created in 2010[1] to lead the Moroccan solar project to generate electricity from solar power[2] by installing a minimum capacity of 2,000 MW by 2020[3] [4] (the Noor Plan).
In 2016, Masen became the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy. Its remit was extended to all renewable energy sources (chiefly solar, wind and hydro-power) and its goal is to achieve a minimum installed capacity of 3,000 MW by 2020 and 6,000 MW by 2030.[5]
Masen develops integrated energy projects (renewable installations) under an agreement between the Moroccan state and Masen.
The Noor plan, led by Masen, aims to develop a minimum capacity of 2,000 MW of solar power by 2020 (equivalent to 14 per cent of Morocco's total installed electricity capacity by this date).[6]
This was expected to require more than 9 billion dollars of investment by 2020[7] and prevent the emission of 3.7 million tonnes of .[8]
The Noor plan's first multi-technology mega-project, gathering four power plants with a total capacity of more than 580 MW,[9] is being rolled out in the region of Ouarzazate, a city in south-east Morocco:
Noor Ouarzazate is set to be the largest solar complex in the world.[12]
Further sites have been identified for integrated solar projects: Laâyoune, Boujdour, Midelt and Tafilalet[13]
10 wind farms, including private projects, have been installed along Morocco's coastline and inland: Tarfaya,[14] Essaouira,[15] Laâyoun,[16] Tetouan,[17] Tangier, Ksar Sghir (between Tangier and Tétouan),[18] Akhfennir,[19] Taza,[20] Midelt,[21] Oualidia (2 x 18 MW)[22] and Boujdour.[23]
The wind power strategy aims to develop 2,000 MW by 2020 and save 1.5 million toe a year, i.e. 5.6 million tonnes of .[24]
By the end of 2016, installed wind capacity stood at 895 MW.[25]
Thanks to its damming policy, Morocco now has 148 dams all over the Kingdom.[26]
Current installed electrical power[27] is 1,770 MW and the aim is to increase this to 2,000 MW by 2020.
Masen intends to develop other types of renewable energy if they prove relevant for Morocco.[28]