Potential of Moroccan Agriculture Sector for Energy Generation from Barley Straws

One of the leading barley producers in Africa is Morocco, where this crop is the second most important cereal in the country. Despite a huge annual amount of barley agricultural residues obtained in Morocco, this excellent energy resource is not used for power generation at the national level. At the same time, this is a great chance for Morocco to use barley biomass to meet the energy demand of rural areas owing to the decrease in the high dependence of the Moroccan energy sector on expensive fossil fuels import. Moreover, the country has to use clean energy technologies to accomplish its role in the reduction of greenhouse gases emission according to the Paris agreement. Regarding the fact that barley is a rainfed crop in Morocco and the shortage of national water resources, using barley residues for energy production will decrease heavy pressure on the energy and agriculture sectors. In addition, the problems associated with biomass disposal are reduced by energy production from barley straws. Accordingly, this paper estimates possible energy generation from barley straws in Morocco with the goal of presenting valuable information that can be considered by the Moroccan energy sector.