Where the current comes from

Coal, wind, sun: the map of Moroccan electricity

Morocco imports almost all its energy and generates more than forty terawatt-hours of electricity a year. This story follows the current, plant by plant: coal columns on the coast, dry Atlas dams, the wind of Tarfaya, Noor's mirrors, the sun month by month, and the cables to Spain.

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GeoInsights

Where the current comes from

Morocco has neither oil nor gas. It imports almost all its energy — and yet generates, every year, more than forty terawatt-hours of electricity. This story follows the current: from coal on the coast to sun in the desert.

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Forty-two terawatt-hours

In 2024 the country generated 42 TWh of electricity, three times the 2000 level. Six sources share that output, and one dominates: imported coal still supplies six kilowatt-hours out of ten. Wind has become the second source; hydro, once third, has faded with the drought.

2024 generation by source (TWh)

Source : Our World in Data (Ember, Energy Institute) — électricité du Maroc (2024)

▸ See the data

Coal	26,18
Wind	7,09
Gas	4,33
Solar	2,41
Oil	1,54
Hydro	0,81

of electricity generated in 2024 came from coal

Source : Our World in Data, « Energy » — données Ember et Energy Institute, électricité du Maroc par source, 2000–2025

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The coal columns

Five plants, all on the coast or near the eastern border, where coal arrives by ship or once came out of the Jerada mines. Jorf Lasfar alone matches the capacity of every wind turbine in the country combined. In this scene the columns share one scale: gas and oil, in orange, next to coal.

0MW

at Jorf Lasfar, the country's largest plant

Source : Wikipédia, « List of power stations in Morocco » — puissances et années de mise en service

0.0TWh

generated from coal in 2024, against 9.4 in 2000

Source : Our World in Data, « Energy » — données Ember et Energy Institute, électricité du Maroc par source, 2000–2025

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The missing water

Hydro plants sit in the Atlas, below the large dams. They generated 3.6 TWh in 2010; after six years of drought, 0.8 TWh in 2024. The Afourer pumped-storage station, the most powerful, does not generate: it stores, pumping water up at night to turbine it by day.

Hydro generation (TWh)

Source : Our World in Data (Ember, Energy Institute) — électricité du Maroc (2000–2025)

▸ See the data

2000	0,71
2001	0,86
2002	0,84
2003	1,44
2004	1,59
2005	1,43
2006	1,6
2007	1,33
2008	1,37
2009	2,95
2010	3,63
2011	2,14
2012	1,82
2013	2,99
2014	2,03
2015	2,28
2016	1,66
2017	1,57
2018	2
2019	1,65
2020	1,29
2021	1,21
2022	0,68
2023	0,52
2024	0,81
2025	0,91

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A river of air along the coast

July 2025, mean wind ten metres above ground. From Tangier to Lagouira the trade winds run down the coast from the north-north-east, steady, often above 7 m/s — stronger still off Dakhla. Inland, behind the Atlas, the air drops to 2 or 3 m/s. Colours are mean speed, from dark blue to yellow; white strokes, wind direction.

0.0m/s

mean wind at Tarfaya in July 2025, from the north-north-east

Source : ECMWF ERA5 via Open-Meteo (Historical Weather API) — vent moyen à 10 m, juillet 2025, grille de 0,5°

Catalogue datasetsECMWF ERA5-Land — Monthly Average Wind Speed at 10 m — Morocco — 1940–2026

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The Atlantic wind

Two deposits: the strait, where the wind rushes between two seas, and the Saharan coast from Tarfaya to Boujdour, in the river of the trade winds. Each turbine stands for a farm; its height follows installed capacity. In 2024 wind turbines supplied 7 TWh — wind overtook gas and oil combined.

0MW

at Tarfaya, Africa's largest wind farm when it opened in 2014

Source : Wikipédia, « List of power stations in Morocco » — puissances et années de mise en service

Wind and sun (TWh)

Source : Our World in Data (Ember, Energy Institute) — électricité du Maroc (2000–2025)

▸ See the data

	Wind	Solar
2000	0,06	0
2001	0,21	0
2002	0,19	0
2003	0,2	0
2004	0,2	0
2005	0,21	0
2006	0,18	0
2007	0,28	0
2008	0,3	0
2009	0,39	0
2010	0,66	0
2011	0,69	0
2012	0,73	0
2013	1,36	0
2014	1,92	0
2015	2,52	0
2016	3,02	0,4
2017	3,04	0,41
2018	3,86	0,95
2019	4,72	1,58
2020	4,59	1,52
2021	5,11	1,82
2022	5,36	1,45
2023	6,55	2,11
2024	7,09	2,41
2025	7,14	2,57

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Noor, the Ouarzazate sun

At the gates of the desert, three thousand hectares of mirrors. Noor I and II track the sun with parabolic troughs; Noor III focuses it on a 250-metre tower; Noor IV is photovoltaic. Molten salt keeps the heat, and the complex keeps generating for hours after sunset.

0MW

of installed capacity across the complex, commissioned from 2016 to 2018

Source : Wikipédia, « Complexe solaire Noor Ouarzazate » — 580 MW, plus de 3 000 ha, mise en service 2016–2018

0.0TWh

of solar electricity generated in Morocco in 2024; none in 2015

Source : Our World in Data, « Energy » — données Ember et Energy Institute, électricité du Maroc par source, 2000–2025

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The sun, month by month

Copernicus's ERA5-Land reanalysis estimates, for each month, the solar energy received per square metre. The year 2025 plays: the Saharan south exceeds 250 kWh/m² in June, the Rif and the Atlantic coast stay below. This map decides where mirrors get planted.

Catalogue datasetsECMWF ERA5-Land — Monthly Downward Solar Radiation at Surface — Morocco — 1950–2026

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The small suns

Away from the large complexes, solar spreads through rooftops, pumps and streetlights. OpenStreetMap contributors map these panels; the hexagons count their density. They show where people map as much as where they install — but Casablanca, Marrakech and the Souss stand out clearly.

Plants mapped in OSM, by source (mapped objects)

Source : Contributeurs OpenStreetMap / Geofabrik (2026)

▸ See the data

solar	73
hydro	22
oil	11
wind	3
coal	3
gas	2
(sans valeur)	1
diesel	1

Catalogue datasetsSolar Panels and Generators in Morocco — OpenStreetMap 2026

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A quarter, then half

Wind, sun and water supplied 24% of electricity in 2024. In installed capacity, renewables already reach 45%; the official target is 52% by 2030. But generating is not installing: a coal plant runs day and night, a wind turbine when the wind blows. The generation curve rises more slowly than the megawatt curve.

Generation by source, 2000–2025 (TWh)

Source : Our World in Data (Ember, Energy Institute) — électricité du Maroc (2000–2025)

▸ See the data

	Coal	Gas	Oil	Hydro	Wind	Solar
2000	9,4	0	3,53	0,71	0,06	0
2001	12,11	0	2,42	0,86	0,21	0
2002	11,42	0	2,65	0,84	0,19	0
2003	11,58	0	3,12	1,44	0,2	0
2004	12,35	0,12	3,21	1,59	0,2	0
2005	12,39	1,95	3,28	1,43	0,21	0
2006	12,49	2,43	3,17	1,6	0,18	0
2007	12,04	2,73	3,31	1,33	0,28	0
2008	11,27	2,77	4,64	1,37	0,3	0
2009	10,51	2,95	4,13	2,95	0,39	0
2010	10,32	2,81	5,43	3,63	0,66	0
2011	11,27	3,91	6,35	2,14	0,69	0
2012	11,37	5,95	6,64	1,82	0,73	0
2013	12,14	5,82	4,63	2,99	1,36	0
2014	15,95	5,6	2,57	2,03	1,92	0
2015	17,11	5,78	2,21	2,28	2,52	0
2016	16,99	5,91	2,88	1,66	3,02	0,4
2017	17,55	5,84	3,49	1,57	3,04	0,41
2018	21,26	5,2	1,25	2	3,86	0,95
2019	26,9	4,7	0,79	1,65	4,72	1,58
2020	27,21	3,46	0,69	1,29	4,59	1,52
2021	28,28	3,46	1,38	1,21	5,11	1,82
2022	29	0,69	4,19	0,68	5,36	1,45
2023	27,15	4,26	1,83	0,52	6,55	2,11
2024	26,18	4,33	1,54	0,81	7,09	2,41
2025	27,37	4,86	1,61	0,91	7,14	2,57

Renewable share of generation (%)

Source : Our World in Data (Ember, Energy Institute) — électricité du Maroc (2000–2025)

▸ See the data

2000	5,62
2001	6,86
2002	6,82
2003	10,04
2004	10,25
2005	8,52
2006	8,96
2007	8,18
2008	8,21
2009	15,96
2010	18,77
2011	11,62
2012	9,62
2013	16,15
2014	14,1
2015	16,08
2016	16,49
2017	15,84
2018	19,82
2019	19,79
2020	19,18
2021	19,81
2022	18,18
2023	21,72
2024	24,41
2025	23,96

renewable installed capacity targeted for 2030 (45% at end-2024)

Source : Wikipédia, « Renewable energy in Morocco » — objectif 2030 (52 % de la puissance installée), part renouvelable 2024

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The current that crosses

Two cables under the strait link the Moroccan grid to Spain. In 2024 the current mostly flowed north to south: 2,896 GWh imported, 356 exported. Further north, a project meant to run 4,000 km of cable from the Sahara to Devon to supply 8% of Britain's electricity; London withdrew in June 2025.

0GWh

imported from Spain in 2024, 6% of Moroccan demand

Source : Red Eléctrica de España — Informe del sistema eléctrico 2024, intercambios físicos con Marruecos

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The map is yours

All the plants, dams and solar footprints are here. Move the map, click an object to read its record, change the month for solar radiation.

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Sources and method

Everything this story states comes from here: the data tables, the references cited and the catalogue datasets, with their licence and date.

Data

Our World in Data (Ember, Energy Institute) — électricité du Maroc
Period : 2024Licence : CC BY 4.0Updated : 2026-10-06
Terawatt-hours generated in the year, by source. 2025: Ember estimate.
Wikipédia, « Complexe solaire Noor Ouarzazate » ; positions d'après OpenStreetMap
Period : 2018Licence : CC BY-SA 4.0 / ODbL
Wikipédia, « Xlinks Morocco–UK Power Project » — tracé schématique de Guelmim-Oued Noun au Devon
Period : 2025Licence : CC BY-SA 4.0
The route is schematic. The UK government declined the contract in June 2025; the developer is seeking other outlets.
WRI, Global Power Plant Database (coordonnées) ; Wikipédia, liste des centrales du Maroc (puissances)
Period : 2024Licence : CC BY 4.0 (WRI) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikipédia)Updated : 2026-10-06
Natural gas, gas turbines and diesel: the peaking plants.
ECMWF ERA5 via Open-Meteo — vent moyen à 10 m, juillet 2025
Period : juillet 2025Licence : CC BY 4.0 (Open-Meteo) ; Copernicus C3SUpdated : 2026-10-07
For each node of a 0.5° grid, the mean of the 31 daily speeds (colours and isolines) and the mean vector of the daily winds (particle direction). Where the wind shifts from day to day, as in the strait, the mean vector is short: particles barely move there.
Red Eléctrica de España, Informe del sistema eléctrico 2024 — intercambios físicos con Marruecos
Period : 2024Updated : 2025-03-01
Contributeurs OpenStreetMap / Geofabrik
Period : 2026Licence : Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0Updated : 2026-08-13
Power-plant objects mapped in OpenStreetMap, by declared source; a contributed census, not an official inventory.

References

Our World in Data, « Energy » — données Ember et Energy Institute, électricité du Maroc par source, 2000–2025 · 2026-10-06 · CC BY 4.0
World Resources Institute — Global Power Plant Database v1.3.0 (centrales du Maroc, coordonnées et puissances) · 2021-06 · CC BY 4.0
Wikipédia, « List of power stations in Morocco » — puissances et années de mise en service · 2026-10-06 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipédia, « Renewable energy in Morocco » — objectif 2030 (52 % de la puissance installée), part renouvelable 2024 · 2026-10-06 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipédia, « Complexe solaire Noor Ouarzazate » — 580 MW, plus de 3 000 ha, mise en service 2016–2018 · 2026-10-06 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Red Eléctrica de España — Informe del sistema eléctrico 2024, intercambios físicos con Marruecos · 2025-03
Wikipédia, « Xlinks Morocco–UK Power Project » — 3,6 GW, câble sous-marin d'environ 4 000 km ; retrait du gouvernement britannique (juin 2025) · 2025-07 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Kharita — Centrales électriques du Maroc, OpenStreetMap 2026 (contributeurs OSM / Geofabrik) · 2026-08-13 · ODbL
Kharita — ECMWF ERA5-Land, rayonnement solaire descendant mensuel à la surface, 1950–2026 (Copernicus C3S) · 2026-08-19 · Licence Copernicus
ECMWF ERA5 via Open-Meteo (Historical Weather API) — vent moyen à 10 m, juillet 2025, grille de 0,5° · 2026-10-07 · CC BY 4.0 (Open-Meteo) ; Copernicus C3S
Kharita — ECMWF ERA5, vitesse moyenne mensuelle du vent à 10 m, 1940–2026 (Copernicus C3S) · 2026-10-07 · Licence Copernicus
Relief : Mapzen Terrain Tiles (AWS Open Data). Imagerie : Esri World Imagery · 2026-10-06

Catalogue datasets

Solar Panels and Generators in Morocco — OpenStreetMap 2026
Contributeurs OpenStreetMap / Geofabrik · Licence : Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 · Updated : August 13, 2026
Explore in Kharita Download
Footprints of Solar Installations in Morocco — OpenStreetMap 2026
Contributeurs OpenStreetMap / Geofabrik · Licence : Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 · Updated : August 13, 2026
Explore in Kharita Download
Morocco's Dams
Ministère de l'Équipement et de l'Eau · Licence : Licence Ouverte · Updated : July 30, 2026
Explore in Kharita Download
Morocco Power Plants — OpenStreetMap 2026
Contributeurs OpenStreetMap / Geofabrik · Licence : Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 · Updated : August 13, 2026
Explore in Kharita Download
ECMWF ERA5-Land — Monthly Average Wind Speed at 10 m — Morocco — 1940–2026
ECMWF ERA5 Hourly — accès via Google Earth Engine et archive publique Earthmover Icechunk sur AWS · Licence : Copernicus C3S/CAMS License — attribution et disclaimer requis · Updated : October 6, 2026
Explore in Kharita Download
ECMWF ERA5-Land — Monthly Downward Solar Radiation at Surface — Morocco — 1950–2026
ECMWF ERA5-Land Monthly Aggregated via Google Earth Engine · Licence : Copernicus C3S/CAMS License; attribution and disclaimer required · Updated : October 6, 2026
Explore in Kharita Download

Methodology

Annual generation by source comes from the Our World in Data compilation (Ember and Energy Institute data), in terawatt-hours; the coal share is coal generation over total generation in 2024. Plants are positioned from WRI's Global Power Plant Database, with capacities from the Wikipedia list of power stations in Morocco; Tarfaya's position was corrected. Columns are scaled to installed capacity; coal, gas and oil share one scale (2,056 MW = 120 km), while hydro plants and wind farms each have their own, to stay readable. Solar radiation is the ERA5-Land reanalysis published on Kharita, year 2025; the hexagons count OpenStreetMap 'solar panel' objects, a contributed census. Exchanges with Spain are Red Eléctrica's 2024 physical exchanges. The Xlinks route is schematic and the project has no contract. The July 2025 wind comes from ERA5 (via Open-Meteo, 0.5° grid): particles follow the mean vector of daily winds, colours and isolines the mean speed; each turbine stands for a farm and its height follows the square root of installed capacity.

Boundaries: Natural Earth 1:50m (public domain), Morocco as a single polygon. Satellite basemap: Esri World Imagery.