Three Chinese companies have secured a three-year deal with Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE)  to operate the Dhar Saadane wind farm in Tangier. 

CRRC Dalian Co. Ltd, CACS Engineering Corporation, and Zhongtian Huineng company won the ONEE bid launched in January 2022. 

The consortium of companies bid MAD 50.4 million ($5.17 million) to operate and maintain the wind farms every year, ONEE said on April 7.

The Chinese companies competed against German renewable energy and engineering company Siemens Gamesa, Spanish Coverwind Solutions, and Tangier-based Les Grands Ateliers de Maintenance.

The Chinese consortium will monitor and operate 126 wind turbines and the electrical network at the Dhar Saadane wind farm to optimize its operations and the conditions of the turbines. 

ONEE staff will benefit from periodic on-site training from their Chinese peers to ensure the sharing of knowledge with regard to maintenance and repair of equipment and operating practices.

The station represents one of two zones of the Tangier I wind farm, which can produce up to 140 MW of electrical energy. 

The second zone is located 12 kilometers east of Tangiers and has 39 wind turbines. 

Tangier I wind farm is “Africa’s largest wind farm” with a capacity to generate 526.5 GW on an annual basis.  

Inaugurated in 2010, the station has generated the “equivalent to more than 126,000 tons of oil equivalent (TEP) each year and prevents the emission of close to 370,000 tons of CO2 annually,” according to Greenpeace.

The wind farm is part of the Moroccan government’s strategy for the development of renewable energy and the protection of the environment.

Morocco has continuously reiterated its commitment to renewable energy and sustainability in regional and international settings. 

Cooperation in renewable energy has been present in major bilateral meetings between Moroccan and other officials from Europe, the Arab World, and Africa.