Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Inaugurates in Tangier First Blade Plant in Africa & Middle East

Tangier – Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) inaugurated on Wednesday in Tangier its first blade plant in Africa and the Middle East.

Siemens invested more than 100 million euros in this plant, which is strategically located in the industrial zone of Tanger Automotive City, at approximately 35 kilometers from Tanger-Med port and ideally positioned between Europe and Africa.

The plant of 37,500 square meters will be the first one for wind turbine blades in the entire Middle East and Africa region.

The first blade plant of a wind turbine manufacturer in Africa and the Middle East is ready to offer wind turbine blades ‘100% made in Morocco’.

To equip the SWT-DD-130 platform turbines (up to 4.2MW power rating), B63-10 blades with a length of 63 meters are produced for export to Europe, Africa and the Middle East, as well as for local projects.

The plant is ready to produce other blade models in the future, which could reach up to 75 meters.

Speaking on this occasion, minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, said that the blade plant will create 600 attractive jobs, as well as an estimated number of 500 auxiliary jobs.

“This factory is good for our company and a solid business decision,” explained Markus Tacke, CEO of Siemens Gamesa. “We invest where we see strong business opportunities, and the opportunities here in Morocco are stronger than ever before. This location in Tangier provides us with direct access to some of the most important markets here in Morocco, throughout the Middle East, in Europe, and in the Mediterranean Region.”

“The Siemens Gamesa project confirms the compelling offer of Tanger Med for multinationals,” said Fouad Brini, President of Tanger Med Special Agency (TMSA). “We are delighted about the uniqueness of Tanger Med’s value proposition, combining the quality of the infrastructure and the perfect alignment between port and industrial zones that meet Siemens Gamesa’s expectations.”

A training center of 3,500 square meters was created to facilitate the knowledge transfer from Denmark to Tangier. The learning process ensures the complete transfer of the technical and process skill sets necessary to optimize the manufacturing process.

The new blade factory plays an important role in contributing to the Morocco’s national program to achieve production of electricity from clean energy to up to 52% by 2030, of which 20% is generated by wind. The 850-MW project that will be built by the consortium Siemens Gamesa, Nareva and ENEL represents a major milestone in this goal.

Siemens Gamesa is a market leader in Africa with over 15 years of existence and 2,1 GW installed capacity, in countries like Morocco, as well as in Algeria, Egypt, South-Africa, Tunisia, Mauritania, Kenya and Mauritius Islands.