The 100th photovoltaic system in Morocco has been inaugurated, one of the biggest projects of this kind worldwide. KfW is supporting the project on behalf of the German government with a financial contribution of €5mn. Under the project 16,000 families in rural regions are to receive photovoltaic solar home systems. Today these families have no access to electricity.

Photovoltaic systems are very important in Morocco’s rural regions since only 40% of the population has access to electricity. With the “traditional” approach of expanding the integrated power network in this situation could be improved only at a disproportionately high cost. Because of the typical settlement structure of remote rural regions, where there are many hermitages, the individual connection costs for rural consumers are usually too high. The decentralised supply concept for small photovoltaic systems is a much more economical alternative in these regions. With over 300 days of sunshine per year, climatic conditions for solar energy are ideal. Under current plans, 6200 villages with a total of 180,000 households are to be electrified with photovoltaic solar home systems in Morocco.

This project approach is innovative for Morocco and allows strong participation of private photovoltaic firms in the installation, maintenance and repair of the systems. This is intended to ensure that the systems will work reliably over the long term. The project sets an example and paves the way for popularising this type of electricity supply, according to those involved.