Summary:
Ten years after the conclusion of its universal energy access program, Morocco has now become one of
the best examples of successful integrated utility-led electrification programs. In less than fifteen years,
rural electrification rates in the kingdom skyrocketed from a bottom low of 18% in 1990 to nearly 100%
presently. Around 10% of the country’s population, or 200,000 households living in remote rural areas,
were electrified through solar home systems. Morocco is currently Africa’s only success story in scaling
up solar-driven electrification programs wherever grid extension programs were not feasible-not a small
feat when one considers that it was not until the late 2000s that solar finally gained traction continentwide
with the emergence of so-called -pay-as-you-go- business models.
Three key factors have underpinned the dramatic success of the Moroccan experience with solar. First, a
strong political support in favor of solar systems, which translated into ambitious agendas and adequate
public resources to achieve government objectives. Second, the ability of local stakeholders to design and
implement solar concessions and attract capable international solar developers on the basis of extensive
pre-feasibility analyses that match demand estimates with various possible supply options through solar
systems. Third, the ability of the national utility and solar concessionaires to leverage all possible sources
of funding available for energy access around a transparent and financially sustainable private sectordriven
model, from cross-subsidies to direct public subsidies and international debt.
The Moroccan case demonstrates that solar systems hold potential in closing the electrification gap and
electrifying the last percent of unelectrified households on reasonable financial terms. However, several
factors call for prudence as one may be tempted to generalize key success factors for universal energy
access in African contexts. Morocco started out with a rural electrification level which was far below
those of its comparable neighboring countries. It had -and seized- the opportunity to exploit a high level
of cross-subsidization from urban consumers and greatly benefited from an economic development level
far exceeding that of most Sub-Saharan African countries. While the Moroccan experience may then well
confirm the potential of solar to reach universal energy access, it seems important not to relate the
dramatic increase in electrification to the implementation model alone and to rather contextualize the
Moroccan experience in the light of the specific challenges that faced the country throughout its
electrification process.
Registration date: 30/10/2020
IIT-20-135A
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