Energy Transition and Sustainable Development Minister Leila Benali told the Chamber of Councilors on Tuesday that Morocco authorized renewable energy projects totaling approximately 3,000 megawatts in the first quarter of 2026 alone — representing close to one third of the country’s current total installed electricity capacity — with associated investments estimated at nearly 22 billion dirhams.
She described the first quarter of 2026 as “the second turning point in investment and authorizations,” after the broader post-2021 acceleration.
Zooming out to the full period since 2021,Benali noted that the ministry has authorized approximately 66 renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 6 gigawatts,representing total investments exceeding 55 billion dirhams. By comparison,only 23 authorizations were granted between 2011 and 2021.
The pace of authorizations is now eight times higher than the pre-2021 rate — a structural acceleration the minister attributed to the legislative and regulatory reforms implemented by the current government.
Among the key policy instruments driving this acceleration,Benali highlighted Law 82.21 on electricity self-production,which opens the door for citizens and enterprises to generate clean energy for their own consumption,and Law 40.19 on renewable energy,which streamlined procedures and enabled,for the first time,electricity storage installations. The share of renewables in installed electricity capacity has risen from 37 percent in 2021 to 46 percent in 2025,a nine-point gain in four years. The minister noted that the true renewable share is likely higher than official figures capture,given the volume of imported solar panels and self-production deployments that are not fully reflected in grid statistics.
Looking ahead,the ONEE electricity equipment plan for 2025-2030 mobilizes 120 billion dirhams in investment and targets 15 additional gigawatts of capacity,of which more than 12 gigawatts — or 88 percent — will come from renewable sources. This “green plan” represents the single most ambitious electricity investment program in Morocco’s history and will define the infrastructure backbone of the country’s energy transition through the end of the decade.
On the downstream side of the energy sector,Benali reported that more than 800 new service stations have been opened through investments of approximately 2.5 billion dirhams,creating over 4,000 jobs. Reform of ONHYM is also under way,including the preparation of a natural gas framework law that has been submitted to the General Secretariat of Government. The minister framed investment support in the energy sector as simultaneously a job creation lever,a national competitiveness driver,and a strategic tool for energy sovereignty — the three pillars she has consistently cited as the rationale for Morocco’s accelerated transition.
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