Casablanca, 03/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - Morocco, heavily dependent on oil (60.6% of the energy used in electricity production) and coal (31.5%), and so on imports, is seeking, like the EU, to diversify its sources of energy supply to meet its electricity needs, which are rising by 8% annually. Currently, Morocco has five major power stations - three coal-fired (Jorf Lasfar, Mohammedia and Jerada) and two oil-fired (Mohammedia and Kenitra) - and several other smaller thermal plants which produce almost 90% of its electricity. It also has 26 hydro-electric power stations, a 54 megawatt (MW) wind farm and the interconnection with Spain which permits the import of nearly 8% of the electricity it needs. To satisfy the growing demand and complete its programme to bring electricity to rural communities by 2007 (currently 81% of rural communities have electricity), Morocco has doubled its interconnection with Spain (the second line comes into operation in June, see EUROPE 9180) and is developing its own means of production. In partnership with Endesa and Siemens, the National Electricity Office (NEO), a public utility which no longer has the monopoly in electricity production in Morocco but still has the monopoly in distribution and transmission, last year began the first gas combined cycle power plant at Tahaddart. The NEO is planning to build a further plant of this type at Al Wahda, planned to come on stream in 2008-2009 and to refit the Mohammedia thermal plant to improve its technical performance and reduce its impact on the environment. To illustrate Morocco's determination to diversify its sources of energy supply, a thermo-solar combined cycle plant using natural gas and drawing some of its power from solar panels should become operational in 2007. Additionally, Morocco, seeking to promote renewable energy, will create further wind farms, one huge 140MW farm near Tanger and another of 60MW at Essaouira. Finally, refusing to rule out any source of electricity production, Rabat intends to build nuclear plants “to diversify its sources of supply and respond to its growing energy demand”, Younes Maamar CEO of the NEO told European journalists accompanying André Merlin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of RTE which operates France's public power transmission system, on his visit to Morocco. “The nuclear option forms part of our investment programme. The decision has been taken, but it takes a long time to get these projects off the ground,” said Mr Maamar, without giving a timescale, but assuring that the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) had already agreed a site for the plant at Safi, on the coast 200km south of Casablanca.