Study on Potential of Local Manufacturing of Solar Technologies in Morocco – Industry and Value Chain Assessment

In 2009 the Moroccan government established the Moroccan Solar Plan (MSP), aiming at the installation of large scale solar power plants with a cumulated capacity of 2,000 MW until 2020. Furthermore, it includes an integrated development strategy to strengthen the local industry participation. The newly created Moroccan agency for Solar Energy (Masen) is responsible for the implementation of the MSP as well as ensuring an adequate regulatory framework setting to achieve these objectives. The study was realized by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (Fraunhofer ISE) for GIZ (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and Masen. It supports the efforts of Masen and the targets of the MSP by assessing the potential industry integration and manufacturing capabilities for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Photovoltaics (PV).

In particular the considered technologies in this study are Parabolic Trough, Solar Tower and Fresnel for CSP plants and Crystalline Silicone, Thin Film as well as Concentrating PV for photovoltaic plants. Both technology fields have experienced an exponential growth in installed capacities over the last years. This is due to a generally rising demand for renewable energy sources as well as improving technology efficiency, combined with falling production costs. The project gives a detailed insight into the mentioned technologies, their differences, manufacturing processes maturity and current market situation. Furthermore, the corresponding core value chains for the different solar power plants and the international industry for each plant component are analyzed. Those analyses target to reveal the potentials for local manufacturer and to highlight the opportunities and threats each industry holds for new businesses. Based on this detailed analysis, the capabilities of the Moroccan industry itself are assessed, concerning the existing and future potentials a local solar industry could withhold for the Moroccan economy.

Following topics are particularly observed:

• Interviews with international and local companies
• Scenario outlook for local potentials
• Areas of intervention
• Policy and Regulations
• Solar Projects
• Manufacturing and Know-how

A summary of the full report can be downloaded here:

http://www.giz.de/de/downloads/giz2012-en-solar-plan-morocco.pdf