Location : Morocco

Dates : 2010-2012

Technical partners : Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), National Agency for the Development of Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (ADEREE), ARDI foundation, PlaNet Finance, Study and research group on renewable energies and the environment (GERERE)

Financial partners : European Commission, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regional Council

• 200 micro-enterprises and small distributors and 200 low-income households
• Casablanca, Rabat and Tanger inhabitants
• The partner Microfinance Institution (IMF) and local partners

This project is designed to support the development, accessibility and sustainable use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency services in Morocco and Egypt for vulnerable groups in urban and rural areas. The main aim of the project is to reduce fuel poverty. During the first eight months of the FREEME project, which was launched in April 2010, studies and consultation exercises were conducted to get a better understanding of energy use in small-scale income-generating activities.

• A consultative workshop on micro-finance and energy was organized in Morocco, attended by around 70 people from various sectors and stakeholder groups
• The partners also carried out a survey of income-generating activities to find out precisely the energy profiles of the final beneficiaries of the project and decide which products to promote
• Studies on product supply chains began at the end of 2010 to determine the existence of units producing the selected products
• The institutional component of the project provided a perspective on policies in force in the energy sector in Morocco