Morocco to test thermal power plant conversion to green hydrogen

Morocco's power project developer Nareva and GE Vernova’s Gas Power business (NYSE:GE) will explore the conversion of the 99-MW Laayoune thermal power plant in Western Sahara to run entirely on green hydrogen.

The two companies and the plant's operator, Morocco's National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), have sealed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to launch techno-economic evaluation studies to explore joint solutions for the production, storage, and supply of green hydrogen for the power plant.

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The power plant is equipped with three 6B heavy-duty gas turbines and runs on heavy fuel oils. Under the plan, one of GE Vernova’s 6B gas turbines will be converted to run entirely on hydrogen. As part of the study, the partners will test an integrated solution to deliver 100% hydrogen to the gas turbine for peak demand periods. The green hydrogen for the converted gas turbine will be produced at Nareva’s Laayoune wind farm.

The study is expected to be completed in two years.

Depending on the results, the pilot project may lead to the full-scale integration of the gas turbines with green hydrogen and the complete decarbonisation of the power plant.

Commenting on the pact, ONEE's chief executive Abderrahim El Hafidi said: "This agreement serves as an important milestone in paving the way to accelerate the integration of hydrogen in the national energy mix, help the country become less reliant on conventional power, and reduce carbon emissions associated with power generation activities.”

The North African country has 4,672 MW of renewable energy capacity in operation while renewable projects currently under development and construction exceed 5 GW, according to El Hafidi.