Morocco to Build Nuclear Power Plant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Morocco has no fossil fuel reserves and imports 96% of its energy needs. The country has an 8% annual growth rate for energy demand. To meet local demand and achieve sustainability in the country's development, the Office National de l'Electricité (ONE) (Casablanca), considers the nuclear power option as one of the technically viable solutions able to meet the future electrical energy requirements of Morocco.

In the early 1980s, ONE undertook site and technical-economic feasibility studies for the first nuclear power plant in Morocco in the context of an agreement signed with French company Sofratome, with the technical assistance of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Among the four sites that were nominated for construction, the site of Sidi Boulbra, was selected. The site is located on the Atlantic coast between the cities of Safi and Essaouira

Morocco's phosphates deposits, discovered in 1920, have been exploited by the Office Chérifienne des Phosphates (OCP), which has a monopoly on mining, processing and marketing of phosphates in the country. Morocco holds 75% of the world's phosphate reserves (85 billion tons), which contain uranium at varying concentrations, usually between 100 and 150 parts per million (ppm). In some deposits, uranium concentrations can vary from 500 to 600 ppm. Since 2007, Areva SA (EPA:CEI) (Paris, France) signed an agreement with (OCP) to develop cooperation and research initiatives regarding the extraction of uranium contained in phosphoric acid produced from Moroccan phosphate ore.

At the beginning of 2010, Morocco signed an agreement with France to launch its nuclear program, which aims to build two nuclear power plants with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts each. The estimated cost for the first station is about $1.8 billion. The station is expected to go online by 2024.

Many international companies are looking to share in Morocco's nuclear program. Among them is Atomstroyexport (Moscow, Russia) Russia's nuclear power equipment and service-export monopoly.

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