Morocco’s bold play at renewing their energy blend

As the winds of change blow through the MENA region, Morocco is pushing to harvest the energy of the sun and the wind. At a time when Western attempts at making renewable energy a success are only producing negative headlines (example here & here) Morocco is playing the hand it was dealt.

As the only country in North Africa that does not have oil resources, Morocco must import 95% of its energy. In 2009, Morocco spent $7.3 billion on fuel and electricity imports, and the demand is set to quadruple by 2030. This has left Morocco with a strong set of incentives to aggressively expand its renewable energy capacity, and the government set an ambitious goal of 42% of energy to come from renewable sources by 2020. That’s more than double the commitment made by the more traditional climate-friendly European countries.

Power Up! Geothermal Energy Development in LAC

On July 31, 2012, India experienced a power outage that left 620 million people without electricity for several hours. Both a lack of power supply along with the possibility of government corruption allowed powerful Indian states to take more than their fair share of power, thus leaving poorer states with none.

Energy shortages are not a phenomenon specific to India. Many countries in Latin America also experience rolling blackouts. However, some Latin American countries are launching projects to take advantage of a renewable energy source, geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is created by mineral decay beneath the earth’s crust and is extracted in the form of hot water and steam. Geothermal energy is measured in megawatts (MW). One thousand watts is equivalent to one kilowatt (Kw) and a megawatt is equivalent to a million watts. The average American household uses 10,000 kilowatt hours of energy a year. Thus one megawatt can fuel about 100 American households for a year. In a developing country where electricity is used less, a megawatt can fuel much more.

Greater stabilization in Latin America’s energy sector could do more than ensure clean energy. The region’s energy sector is inefficient according to The Council on Hemisphere Affairs. The region faces rolling blackouts, electricity shortages and gas price spikes. These occurrences are not just bothersome, but create social imbroglio and economic instability. The council believes that the use of geothermal energy “could secure economies in the region and free the countries from their costly oil dependencies”.

Power to the People

Development can be depressing, especially in the wake of the MDG Summit during which most governments lacked the general get-go to reach development goals. In the search for something more uplifting we came across a story from the World Resources Institute, which noted a rise in energy companies providing services specifically for the rural poor in India. With some 400 million rural inhabitants living without access to electricity combined with soaring energy demands for economic growth, India finds itself in a dire energy crisis. In India, much like everywhere else, access to electricity is vital to development. On the bright side, the energy scarcity has created a huge untapped market for investors.

A recent report by India’s Centre for Development Finance at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (CDF-IFMR), in collaboration with the World Resources Institute’s New Ventures Program, analyzed the market opportunities available for investors in the region hoping to encourage both domestic and international investors to “bring light to the poor”. The report estimates that the renewable energy sectors in India hold over $4 billion in investment opportunities and highlights the work of 11 companies who have already began growing the Indian energy industry. So while governments discuss the MDGs, the private sector is also showing its value in development.