ACWA Maroc, led by CEO Kamal Zennouhi, has secured official authorization to expand its flagship Khalladi wind farm near Tangier by 40 MW. The expansion will bring the site’s total capacity from 120 MW to 160 MW.

The wind farm is located at Djebel Sendouq, around 50 km from Tangier. The existing facility operates 40 wind turbines of 3 MW. Each of the turbines currently generates around 397 GWh per year. This is equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 400,000 households. Additionally, this project reinstates Morocco’s position as a leading developer of wind power infrastructure, with the country setting pace with the development of Africa’s first offshore wind farm.

The expansion project has now entered the development phase. This marks a new step for one of Morocco’s landmark private wind assets under the Law 13.09 renewable energy framework.

Morocco’s Renewable Energy Scope

Morocco’s renewable energy architecture relies not only on large public procurement programmes, but also on its open-access, private-to-private framework to support the country’s target of 52% installed renewable capacity by 2030. Under Law 13.09, private renewable energy producers can develop generation assets and supply electricity directly to eligible high-voltage customers.

Additionally, the Khalladi wind project expansion reinforces the relevance of Morocco’s corporate renewable PPA model in North Africa. As ACWA Power’s first wind asset globally, Khalladi has long served as a reference case for Law 13.09. This has enabled private Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to contract directly with industrial customers connected to the high-voltage grid.

Significance of the Expansion

This 40 MW add-on reinforces confidence in the bankability of Morocco’s private wind model, supported by growing corporate demand for carbon-free electricity ahead of tightening European carbon-related trade requirements.

Leveraging Operational Footprints for Capital Efficiency, the 40 MW expansion of Khalladi reflects a mature IPP strategy: brownfield scaling. Additionally, by leveraging an existing operating site, established wind resource data, existing grid access and local O&M capabilities, ACWA Maroc should improve marginal capital efficiency compared with a fully greenfield development.

The critical metric to track moving forward will be the commercial structure of the additional 40 MW block specifically, how quickly ACWA secures private industrial offtakers for the incremental capacity. Success here could encourage other private wind operators in Morocco to scale their operational assets under the Law 13.09 private-to-private route.

Khalladi Wind Farm Project Factsheet

Project Name: Khalladi Wind Farm Expansion

Location: Jbel Sendouq, Melloussa

Original Facility Capacity: 120 MW (40 x Vestas V90-3.0 MW turbines; active since 2018)

Project Type: Onshore Wind Power

Lead Developer / Majority Owner: ACWA Power

Minority Co-investors: ARIF (Africa Renewable Infrastructure Fund, managed by Infra Invest) and Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN)

Original EPC and Turbine Supplier: Vestas Wind Systems

Original Investment Cost: $175 million (1.7 billion MAD) for the initial 120MW