The Moroccan sector of renewable energies and energy efficiency is of increasing interest to players in the Middle East. Indeed, after a first wave initiated by giants such as the Saudi ACWA Power who won the prize in the projects led by of the masses (by being awarded the contract for the construction and operation of the four sections of the solar station Noor Our Azazate as well as two other farms in Laâyoune and Boujdour) and the Emirati It falls which has extended its Moroccan activities to wind energy (with a park of 140 MW under development in the Tangier region), room for smaller players to also target small projects or even local SMEs with high potential.

Also, two Moroccan entities, en l’occurrence AE Photonics Morocco et REAS Maghreb, have just been acquired by Saudi investors. Previously checked by the entrepreneur Abdelali Sedki, these two SMEs operate in energy efficiency and the recovery and treatment of various waste. The more important of the two, namely AE Photonics, commercialise (among other photovoltaic solutions) pumping systems running on solar energy and intended mainly for agricultural activities. This entity created in 2011 even holds, to his credit, the commissioning of the largest solar pump in Morocco (installed on an olive plantation 10 hectares in the Taroudant region).

Remember that with the scheduled end of the butane gas subsidy, thousands of farms in Morocco that use this energy for pumping purposes (which in itself is a diversion from the current compensation system), are forced to explore new avenues for pumping water from the groundwater (the cost of butane is likely to more than triple). Also, the potential of the Moroccan market for solar energy-based pumping systems is estimated by the German organization GIZ at several billion dirhams.