OWC-Led Consortium to Perform Feasibility Study for Morocco’s First Offshore Wind Farm

Renewable energy consultancy OWC has been appointed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to lead a consortium conducting a comprehensive feasibility study for Morocco’s first offshore wind project.

The study will assess the development of an offshore wind farm endorsed by the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN), with a particular focus on the Atlantic coast near Essaouira.

OWC is leading a consortium comprising marine, environmental and wind specialists as well as African, European and Moroccan engineering and project management companies, including PHENIXA, part of Ginger Group, Gaïa Terre Bleue, NOVEC and SOFECO, also part of Ginger Group.

“This is a major milestone in Morocco’s and Africa’s renewable energy journey. Together with our consortium partners, OWC supports EIB and MASEN in every aspect of this pioneering project – from market analysis and technical assessments to geoscience, offshore wind design, and marine logistics”, Hakim Mouslim, OWC’s regional director for Europe and Africa.

The two-year feasibility study is being carried out under an EIB contract and is funded through the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) Trust Fund.

The work will cover the offshore wind market and supply chain, site selection, wind resource assessment based on a meteorological measurement campaign, offshore wind farm concept design, ports and logistics, risk analysis and the regulatory framework.

The study will also include grid impact and integration assessments in cooperation with Moroccan grid specialists, as well as detailed marine advisory services and environmental and social impact assessments.

OWC said it would draw on its offshore wind and engineering teams in France, the UK and Germany, while ABL will contribute marine expertise and experience in ports and harbours. Both OWC and ABL are part of global consultancy Aqualis.

The feasibility study builds on several years of work by EIB and MASEN to assess offshore wind development in Morocco.

In September 2022, EIB and MASEN signed a cooperation agreement for a EUR 2 million grant to finance a feasibility study that would be carried out to gauge building an initial small-scale offshore wind pilot project in Morocco.

In 2024, EIB launched a tender for a two-year technical-assistance contract covering feasibility studies and an environmental and social impact assessment for a potential project off Essaouira. The procurement was subsequently relaunched after being cancelled in July 2024.

By June 2025, Morocco’s offshore wind plans had advanced to a proposed 1 GW project near Essaouira, with construction targeted to start by 2029, according to the Union for the Mediterranean. The project was identified for support through the Blue Mediterranean Partnership.

World Bank Group estimates put Morocco’s technical offshore wind potential at around 200 GW, including approximately 22 GW considered suitable for fixed-bottom technology and 178 GW for floating wind.

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