Morocco To Allocate 1 Million Hectares To Green Hydrogen Projects

Morocco is looking to attract green hydrogen investments by allocating 1 million hectares of public land to projects, the government said  on Monday.

The first stage of the hydrogen project development will include providing investors with a total of 300,000 hectares of plots of land ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 hectares, according to the size of the expected projects, Morocco said.

The so-called “Morocco Offer” to boost green hydrogen development is also based on a competitive infrastructure that is planned, deployed, developed, and maintained according to the best international standards and the needs of the green hydrogen industry, as well as incentives and support measures for project holders, the North African country said.

Morocco could “play a major role in the field of energy transition globally,” according to the government.

Thanks to abundant sunlight all year round, Morocco has become a major producer of solar power. It is also looking to boost clean energy supply to Europe, given its proximity to the EU, which has set very ambitious clean energy, emission reduction, and net-zero targets.

Located on Europe’s doorstep and harboring ambitions to generate 52% of its electricity from renewables by 2030, Morocco has emerged as a promising energy partner. Morocco also hosts the world’s largest concentrated solar project, the Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex with more than 500 megawatts (MW) of capacity.

The country is now looking to attract investments in green hydrogen, which is produced by splitting water through electrolysis with the use of a renewable energy source.

While heavy industry and governments pin their hopes on hydrogen for faster decarbonization, and power-generating companies and oil and gas majors look to diversify into low-carbon hydrogen production, costs are still high for green hydrogen production and hold back massive deployment of projects, analysts say.

Forecasters, including the International Energy Agency (IEA)—a staunch supporter of all things green – acknowledge that costs need to be slashed significantly if clean hydrogen is to play a major role in the energy transition.

Source: Oilprice.com