Rome- Italy’s interest in developing its partnerships in the field of renewable energies with North African countries has increased, especially since its announcement of the “MATI” plan last January, to support the African continent in development projects. The north of the continent had an important share due to geographical proximity, especially Tunisia, and the accumulation of experience. In the field of alternative energies, especially in Morocco.
Participants in the African Green Growth Forum, in the Italian city of Rimini, last month explained that the choice of Morocco came thanks to the efforts it has made over the past years to develop renewable energies on the southern bank of the Mediterranean, to establish a center of excellence in the field of renewable energy training.
Morocco.. old partnerships
Partnerships between Italy and Morocco in the field of renewable energies began years ago, the most prominent of which was what took place in 2018 between the Italian Enel Green Power group (owned by about 20% of the state) and the Moroccan energy company Nareva Holding. This partnership was signed after an international tender, the title of which was to obtain 850 megawatts of wind energy.
Enel built wind farms to produce electricity, alongside the Moroccan company Nareva, in a number of regions north and south, most notably the beginning of Midelt, then later Essaouira, Tarfaya, Boujdour and Laayoune, under the auspices of the National Electricity Office in Morocco and the Moroccan Sustainable Energy Agency (MASEN).
In 2019, another partnership agreement was signed between Enel and the Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies, focusing on research and development activities, through technical, commercial and economic analyzes for the development of renewable technologies (solar energy, hydroelectricity, wind energy, then energy, biomass and marine energy), and promoting projects. Joint distribution of renewable energy, at the national level, and research related to the production, installation and operation of plants, including storage.
Enel is facilitating the establishment of a center in Morocco for training in the field of renewable energies, electrical infrastructure and energy efficiency, as stated in the Mati Plan, and is being implemented in partnership with the Race for Africa Foundation and the Mohammed VI Polydisciplinary University.
According to Enel documents seen by Al Jazeera Net, this center was developed under the auspices of the governments of Italy and Morocco, in line with European Union policies, and from the perspective of open cooperation with the entire African continent, and the center is prepared to provide comprehensive training in the field of renewable energies and energy transition.
Algeria and Tunisia…a new horizon
Italian companies such as Enel have shown great interest in Algeria’s potential in the field of alternative energies to oil and gas, especially a project in this regard related to the “Medlink” project to install solar panels in the deserts of Algeria and Tunisia to supply the Tuscany and Liguria regions of Italy with electrical energy.
The Italian government and companies are participating in projects with Tunisia to develop wind energy, solar energy, and green hydrogen, and among the most important partnerships are those that contribute to achieving Tunisia’s energy strategy by the year 2030, which aims to increase the pace of reliance on renewable energy, which by the end of 2028 will be one of the sources of production. The electricity will be exported to Italy through the state company Terna, and from there to the entire European Union, within the framework of the “Elmed” project, which relies on a gradual increase in sources of electricity production from renewable energies.
While the Italian Ansaldo Energia Group (a state-owned joint stock company through the Pensions and Loans Fund established in 1990), based in Genoa, is considered one of the most prominent Italian actors, candidates to play a leadership role in keeping pace with the clean energy transition in Tunisia, given the company’s experience in the field of energy cooperation in general by virtue of its Its continuous presence in this North African country since 1994.
Egypt and Libya
As for Egypt, the level of partnership and cooperation regarding renewable energies with Italy remains capable of development given the interest of the local leadership in the Italian expertise in this subject, which was discussed during the meeting of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi a month ago with Claudio Descalzi, director of the Eni Energy Group, as the latter presented “The progress achieved in energy efficiency and sustainability projects enhances efforts for a just energy transition,” according to the official spokesman for the Egyptian presidency.
Eni is one of the prominent Italian companies that contributes to solar energy projects in Aswan Governorate, southern Egypt.
Regarding Libya, there are Italian companies, such as Eni, that are interested in expanding their activity in the renewable energy sector (especially wind), but large projects in this field have not yet been implemented due to the security situation, awaiting guarantees approved by the outcomes of the Libya Energy and Economic Summit during next January.
Partnerships: Perspectives
Italy’s partnerships with North African countries in the field of renewable energies have different readings, analyzes and points of view, according to the opinions of specialists, as the expert and researcher in renewable energies, environmental engineering and climate change, Abdel-Aali Al-Tahiri, tells Al-Jazeera Net that “the launch of the first Italian-African partnerships, in the north of the continent, based on… From Morocco, it comes from the logic of the belief of the Europeans and the international community in general, in the value and rank that Morocco has reached, at the African and international levels, in the areas of transformation. “The boater.”
The spokesman pointed out that “dealing with all North African countries also comes from the standpoint of the European partnership with the region that supports the energy and economic axes by providing economic resources and absorbing unemployment, with what this means in reducing the pressure of immigration, especially illegal ones.”
While university researcher in international relations, Silvia Troiani, told Al Jazeera Net, “Italy’s financing of energy projects and strengthening relations with a stable country in the region may also be beneficial to the security issue, by contributing to reducing immigration and closing borders with countries outside the European Union.”
The academic researcher in the field of renewable energies, Idris Ait Al-Hajj, stated in a comment to Al Jazeera Net that Italy’s interest in the countries of North Africa, led by Morocco, comes at a stage in which competition has increased between major international powers to invest in renewable energies, especially in the countries of northern Africa, and it is a partnership.” It consolidates the global trend towards clean and renewable energies, and provides North African countries with new opportunities to increase growth, whether by increasing international investments in the field of clean energies, or by benefiting from international experiences and expertise in the field of structuring and developing the sector. Renewable energies.
