Renewable energy governance in Morocco – Analysis in Energy Policy

The development of renewable energy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is fostered by a wide range of regional and international institutions and finance mechanisms. However, a coordinated governance approach to foster renewable energy in MENA is currently lacking. Existing instruments and institutions miss out on thoroughly assisting a country like Morocco that is actively bringing forward the implementation of renewable energy.

This is the result of an article jointly written by Kerstin Fritzsche, Dennis Taenzler and the Moroccan renewable energy expert Driss Zejli and published in Energy Policy. The article analyses potentials and chances of global and regional energy and climate governance for the development of wind and solar energy in Morocco. The authors compare the approaches of existing initiatives and instruments such as the Mediterranean Solar Plan and the Clean Development Mechanism and discuss their contribution to the creation of suitable framework conditions, infrastructures and financing opportunities for fostering the development of renewable energy in MENA.
The authors conclude that the analyzed organizations and instruments complement one another regarding their objectives and succeed in contributing to the initial financing of renewable energy projects. However, they vary strongly in their ability to thoroughly support a pioneer country like Morocco in its efforts to implement renewable energy.