GE announced to supply 56 1.7-100 wind turbines for its first wind farm in North Africa developed by Energie Eolienne du Maroc (EEM), a developer of wind projects and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nareva Holding. The 100 MW wind farm will be located near Akhfennir in southern Morocco.

GE’s 1.7-100 wind turbines will produce wind power in Morocco to help meet the country’s renewable energy goals, while offering EEM enhanced economic returns demonstrating wind’s competitiveness with alternative forms of generation. GE’s agreement complements the government of Morocco’s Integrated Wind Energy Project, which aims to generate 2000 MW of wind power by 2020 through an investment of Moroccan Dirhams 31.5 billion.

“This agreement highlights our commitment to Morocco’s wind energy development,” Jeff Immelt, GE’s chairman and chief executive officer, said. “Building on our power generation heritage of over 100 years, our wind turbine technology is a strong fit to help Morocco meet its wind power goal and support the country’s industrialization.”

“Morocco is taking significant strides in achieving the Integrated Wind Energy Strategy to increase wind’s portion of the national energy mix to over 14% by 2020,” said Ahmed Nakkouch, chief executive officer of Nareva. “Additionally, this farm will help by adding renewable power to the grid and help meet the country’s growing demand for power.”

The power generated by the wind power plant is intended to support industrial companies under Morocco’s Power Purchase Agreement, thus further stimulating the economy by creating new jobs and supporting the local supply chain.

Akhfennir is one of the wind farms in the first phase of the Moroccan Integrated Wind Energy project to produce over 720 MW. Five new sites are being planned to utilize Morocco’s strong potential in wind power, estimated at 25,000 MW. Morocco’s Renewable Energy Law (No.13-09) supports energy production from renewable resources.

(Photo: GE's wind turbine. Photo Credit: Commons Wikimedia)