Economic barriers to green innovations in Morocco: the case of a zero-energy house

Abstract

Abstract Building with a reduced ecological footprint has become a major topic in the energy and economic debate in Morocco. This article aims at analyzing the economic barriers facing the integration and diffusion of environmental innovations in the building sector in Morocco. The concept of environmental innovation is taken as a conceptual framework for our analysis. We present a case study of the integration of innovative technical solutions: it concerns the use of a bio-sourced material “hempcrete” (as a green input) and an innovative system (Curved Solar Panels) for the construction and the energy production of a zero-energy building. The results show that these innovative solutions cannot easily be adopted and generalized given the fact that their cost remains high compared to conventional solutions. In addition, at the macroeconomic level, several barriers can hamper the generalization of these solutions in Morocco.