Morocco: Siemens is building a rotor blade factory

Siemens and the Moroccan government have reached an important agreement. Siemens will build a factory in Morocco to manufacture rotor blades for onshore wind turbines, creating up to 700 jobs and thereby tripling Siemens’ footprint in the country. The construction of the factory is expected to start as early as the spring of 2016 and it is scheduled to commence operations in spring 2017.

"We invest where we see strong business opportunities," said Markus Tacke, CEO of the Siemens Wind Power and Renewables Division. "Morocco is the perfect location from which to serve the growing onshore wind power markets in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The economy is strong, the political climate is stable, and Morocco has a young, skilled and motivated workforce. These factors make Tangier the ideal site for this new state-of-the-art factory."

Clean and renewable energy will play a major role in meeting the country’s growing energy demand. The Moroccan government’s target is to generate 42 percent of its energy demand from renewables by 2020, of which 20 percent will come from wind power. This target was revised upwards and is set to 52 percent by 2030 as announced by His Majesty King Mohammed VI at the COP 21 meeting in Paris.

The planned production facility will have a surface area of 37,500 square meters – the size of roughly five soccer fields – and will be located in Tanger Automotive City, which is approximately 35 kilometers from Tanger Med port. Centrally located between Europe and Africa, the Tanger Med port provides the right conditions for the handling and export of blades to various locations in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Siemens has already implemented several key renewable energy projects, including the 300-MW-Tarfaya project, in Morocco. Siemens can look back over a long history in the country. In 1929, Siemens supplied electrical installations to a cement plant in Casablanca. Since 1956, the company has been continuously present in Morocco with its local legal entity Siemens Maroc.