Aftissat wind farm in Morocco set for expansion

The Aftissat wind farm in Morocco is set for expansion. This follows selection of GE Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of the American conglomerate General Electric (GE), to deploy its Cypress technology including the installation of 40 onshore wind turbines with a nominal capacity of 5 MW, and a rotor diameter of 158 m for the project.

The company was selected by Énergie éolienne du Maroc (EEM), a subsidiary of Nareva Holding and the owner of the Aftissat wind farm, which originally started commercial operation in October 2018. The wind farm, which is located 50 kilometers south of the city of Boujdour in southern Morocco currently has a total of 56 Siemens turbines with a rated capacity of 3.6 MW, for a total capacity of 201.6 MW.

GE Renewable Energy is expected to commission the new turbines in 2023, upon which the Aftissat wind farm’s capacity will be increased to 401.6 MW, making the facility the largest of its kind in the North African country.

The electricity generated at the facility that GE Renewable Energy is also expected to operate for a period of 20 years, is intended to support industrial companies under power purchase agreements, in line with Morocco’s goal to install 52% of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

The extension of the Aftissat wind farm will also increase the installed capacity of Nareva group, which currently operates the 300 MW Tarfaya wind farm with Engie, the 50.6 MW Foum El Oued wind farm, the 50.6 MW Haouma wind farm, and the 201.1 MW Akhfennir 1 and 2 wind farms.