Essaouira moves ahead with Morocco’s first offshore wind project

This update focuses on Essaouira offshore wind farm. The Atlantic coast of Essaouira is moving a step closer to hosting Morocco’s first offshore wind project, with a feasibility study launched for a wind farm that could reach up to 1,000 MW in capacity.

Essaouira offshore wind farm marks a symbolic step

Since 3 September, Norwegian firm Offshore Wind Consultants (OWC), a subsidiary of ABL Group, has officially been in charge of studying the feasibility of the planned Essaouira offshore wind farm.

The contract has been signed with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and is funded by the FEMIP Trust Fund, part of the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership. The mandate runs over two years, with a base budget of 2 million euros before tax, and a possible top-up of 1 million euros if additional financing becomes available.

On the Moroccan side, the project is led by the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen). The aim is to determine whether the offshore wind farm is viable from a technical, financial and legal standpoint before any construction decision is taken.

An international and Moroccan team on the project

OWC is working with several European and Moroccan partners on the Essaouira offshore wind farm:

• Phenixa and Sofeco, two subsidiaries of the French Ginger group;
• the consultancy Gaïa Terre Bleue;
• Moroccan engineering firm Novec;
• OWC in-house teams based in France, the United Kingdom and Germany, backed by sister company ABL for port and maritime expertise.

This consortium is designed to cover geoscience surveys, engineering, maritime logistics, market analysis, and the specific constraints of local ports and the national grid.

According to the project documents, Essaouira offers one of the strongest wind resources on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, with another key advantage: relatively shallow waters that make fixed-bottom turbines more realistic and less costly than floating solutions.

What this changes now for Moroccans living abroad

In the short term, the this case project does not change travel conditions for Moroccans abroad. No impact has been announced on air routes, ferry connections or access to Essaouira and surrounding cities.

For holidays back home, ticket bookings or tours in the region, everything remains the same for now. Any future adjustments to port capacity or logistics would primarily concern heavy industrial equipment and are far from being defined at this stage. It still makes sense to check practical information regularly with airlines, ferry operators and other official transport sources as the study progresses.

However, the project may be of interest to skilled professionals and investors in the Moroccan diaspora over the medium and long term. If the wind farm is built, it could generate opportunities in:

• marine and offshore construction and engineering;
• industrial and electrical maintenance;
• environmental and marine studies services;
• technologies linked to renewable energy.

Moroccans living abroad who work in these fields could eventually explore partnerships, qualified return paths or targeted green investments in the Essaouira area.

Many key decisions still ahead

Nothing is final yet for the this issue. The feasibility work must still determine:

• the exact location of the site;
• the technical design of turbines and foundations;
• whether nearby ports can handle the construction phase;
• investment and operating costs;
• the best way to connect the project to the national power grid.

Another challenge is regulatory. Morocco does not yet have a fully developed framework specific to offshore wind, including auction rules, permits and the use of the maritime domain. The EIB-funded work is also meant to help clarify these future rules.

This initiative builds on an earlier step. On 15 September 2022, the EIB and Masen signed a cooperation agreement with a 2 million euro grant to explore the feasibility of offshore wind in Morocco. The current phase is therefore a new milestone, not yet a final construction decision.

For Moroccans abroad, the key takeaway is clear: the project signals Morocco’s ambition in renewables, with no immediate effect on travel plans, but with future potential in skilled jobs and green investments back home.

For more context, readers can follow Canal212 news for Moroccans abroad.

For official updates, readers can check the relevant official source.