Comparative effectiveness of environmental regulation instruments: Case of the Moroccan electricity mix

Fossil fuels dominate the electricity mix of Morocco, the country is placing renewable energy at the heart of its energy strategy, to improve the security of supply and ensure environmental sustainability. However, the penetration of renewable energy technologies (RET) in the Moroccan electricity mix remains low due to an excess of investment in conventional energy technologies. This study first explores the characteristics of the Moroccan electricity mix before studying the dynamic effects of environmental regulatory instruments, in particular the carbon tax and the emission standards. To do so, we analyzed scenarios using a bottom-up linear and dynamic optimization model "OSeMOSYS". We will therefore assess the impact of the carbon tax and the emission standards on RET adoption in the Moroccan electricity mix, over a period from 2015 to 2040. Our results suggest that environmental regulation in the electricity sector will lead to a large diversification of the Moroccan electricity mix with a large penetration of RET thus reducing the overall production of conventional energy technologies. Therefore, it follows that the carbon tax encourages the adoption of RET in the Moroccan electricity mix with significant reductions on fuel costs and operating & maintenance (O&M) costs of conventional energy technologies compared to emission standards.