Morocco plans first standalone energy storage facility

April 09, 2025

From the newsletter

The north-west African country plans to build a 1,600 MW battery energy storage system to support its expanding renewable energy sector. The national power utility company is set to invite bids for the project, and commissioning will be done in phases starting in 2026. This was reported by a local Moroccan newspaper.

  • Battery storage is increasingly vital for renewable energy projects to balance intermittency. Many African countries, including those just starting their renewable energy journey, like Burkina Faso, South Sudan, and Somalia, are integrating it with renewable projects, and some are deploying standalone systems.

  • Morocco's ambition is to achieve a 52% renewable energy share in its installed capacity by 2030. The current capacity stands at 4,375 MW, double that of ten years ago. It has gigascale projects in the pipeline, including the 10,500 MW Xlinks project, which will be coupled with 5,000 MW of battery storage.

More details

  • The battery energy storage system (BESS) is intended to store power generated by Morocco's solar and wind energy installations. 

  • Morocco is pursuing a multi-faceted strategy for energy storage. It has integrated a 400 MWh BESS with its Noor Midelt solar complex. The country has also utilised Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS), with 464 MW of capacity operational since 2004. Currently, its national power utility company ONEE, is constructing an additional 350 MW of PHS storage capacity, and another 400 MW is in the planning phase.

  • Beyond Morocco, other African nations are beginning to adopt BESS, often driven by diverse immediate requirements. For example, Somalia's World Bank-funded 20 MWh BESS initiative aims to strengthen basic grid functionality, while projects like CrossBoundary Energy for the Kamoa Copper Mine are intended to meet baseload power demands.

  • South Africa and Egypt have implemented several projects involving BESS. South Africa boasts the 540 MW Kenhardt solar plant with 1,140 MWh of battery storage. South Sudan and Mali are the latest to join, with the completion of their solar projects featuring BESS.

  • According to the Renewables Rising project database, since January, we have tracked 12 projects totalling 3,012 MW, representing approximately 18% of the total project capacity under development. Two of these are standalone projects, while the remainder are integrated with solar power. One, located in Egypt, will have a capacity of 1,500 MWh and will be the first standalone battery storage system in the country. It will be constructed by the Dubai-based Amea Power, which has already secured financing. The South African one will have a capacity of 300 MWh.

  • The increasing prevalence of utility-scale battery storage projects is an interesting trend. The market is evolving to accommodate the growing demand for renewables. At the same time, we are observing countries venturing into battery manufacturing, particularly lithium-ion. Morocco and South Africa have both established gigascale factories to manufacture batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles. This current trend has the potential to significantly support the growth of these industries.

Our take

  • Battery energy storage can support greater revenue generation from electricity sales. They can allow storing low-cost renewable energy and selling it during peak price periods or providing firm capacity during high-demand hours. This enhances the project's actual energy delivered compared to the theoretical maximum and improves investor returns.

  • Uptake of batteries, despite demanding huge upfront investments they can reduce the need for costly curtailment of renewable energy when generation exceeds the grid's absorption capacity. It can also displace the operation of expensive peaking power plants, typically running on diesel or natural gas, which are often used to meet short-duration peaks in demand. 

  • The trend towards adopting battery storage is clear, but the localisation of its manufacturing is still some way off. Few countries are attempting it. Given Africa's abundant lithium resources, could now be the time for the continent to focus on battery manufacturing before missing out, as it did with solar panel manufacturing? I believe so.