Shining a Light on the Injustices of the Noor Ouarzazate Solar Plant

Climate change is expected to disproportionately affect Morocco, so why is the government making agricultural workers even more vulnerable?

In 2015 – 2016, catastrophic drought destroyed Morocco’s harvests, already weakened by increasingly erratic rainfall. As a result, economic growth fell to less than 30% of the levels recorded in 2015. Like much of the global south, Morocco will suffer greatly if the climate change crisis is not prevented; in part due to the high proportion of the population working in agriculture.

In preparation for this, the country developed its Plan Vert, with two main aims: to reduce and adapt to the effects of climate change, and to create opportunities and stability within the agricultural sector.

Morocco has also focused on renewable energy, most notably the Noor Ouarzazate Plant. It was built in three stages from 2016-2018; the final stage enables the plant to generate 510 MW of energy, with an 18-hour storage capacity. As the world’s largest solar plant, this gives Morocco far more energy independence – previously, the country imported around 91% of its energy. A switch to solar power gives the country more freedom in diplomatic decision-making, as it is less reliant on other countries for essential power. The project is also designed to improve energy sustainability – since 1995, 98% of the population have gained access to electricity, drastically increasing Morocco’s energy usage.

Local Issues

“The land acquisition process is a relic of French colonialism in Morocco”

In 2019, the Climate Change Performance Index declared Morocco the third-most prepared country for climate change, but some within Morocco disagree. Locals in the city of Ouarzazate and nearby villages have accused the project of being a ‘green grab’, stealing their pasture. The land – which is typically traded at 10-12 dirhams per sq. km – was bought by L’Office National de l`Electricité (ONEE) for 1 dirham per sq. km. ONEE claims this lower price was due to the ‘marginality’ and ‘non-productivity’ of the land – a concept which did not prevent local farmers making a living from it. In fact, the land was actually increasing in value, as commercial livestock and interest in agribusiness grew.

The land acquisition process is a relic of French colonialism in Morocco, and contains no requirements or even recommendations to speak with locals, who were not informed of the project until November 2010 – after the land had been sold. Rather than pass this money onto the locals, ONEE instead transferred it to the Ministry of the Interior to be used for development in the area – a project usually funded by existing policies such as Plan Vert, rather than the citizens themselves.

Community representatives were promised that the population would be offered jobs (studies showed the plant could create thousands), however the many international companies employed seem to be drawing on a pool of workers from their own countries. The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) admits that on-site engineers are primarily Spanish, German, and Chinese, while locals have been subject to temporary and uncertain work at best. Similarly, the building and maintenance contracts outsourced all materials to large non-Moroccan companies, leaving locals without the job prospects they expected. The local population (as with many of Morocco’s rural settlements) consists primarily of subsistence farmers, so these jobs would have been incredibly beneficial.

Water Disputes

Prior to the project’s completion, critics highlighted its dependency on the Al-Monsour Ad Dhabi dam, which was used by locals for irrigation and drinking water until it dried up. Ouarzazate’s inhabitants had to be redirected to the Tiouine Dam, no doubt causing water shortages for those already connected to it. The (albeit short) time cut off from a water supply is a worrying indicator: Morocco’s acute water stress is predicted to worsen in the coming years and the plant puts a massive strain on the already-struggling water supply of this arid area.

Around 80% of the population in the rural areas surrounding Noor are employed in agriculture, so are very vulnerable to changes in land and water supply. Attempting to prevent possible livelihood damage before the plant was built, locals suffered hunger strikes and demonstrations, while writing numerous letters to the government and involved companies. The protests seemingly have had little impact in Morocco’s top-down political system. The project developers were undeterred; their only action was to commission a report into community acceptance of the area’s solar power.

Future Worries

This report, by Boris Schinke, found that while most of the local population were accepting of the plant, this was due to lack of knowledge – they hadn’t been warned of any possible consequences, and so thought only of the benefits renewable energy could bring.

This poor communication is perhaps the most dangerous aspect of Noor’s many issues: the locals are the most affected group when difficulties arise, and if they cannot communicate problems then the causes cannot be resolved.

“The plant could be used as inspiration for other African countries to escape dependence on fossil fuels”

Although Noor Ouarzazate represents tremendous progress in the global fight against climate change, the plant itself has had unintended consequences for the local population. In the name of environmental friendliness, Noor has reduced their grazing lands, endangered their water supply, and exacerbated the fragility of the local economy. As a result of the plant, locals are even more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than previously. Scarce media coverage of Noor’s disputes with the local population will doubtless lead to these same mistakes being repeated elsewhere in the world. The plant could be used as inspiration for other African countries to escape dependence on fossil fuels; solar power could provide stability and improve economies on the continent. But only if we learn from and improve Noor Ouarzazate.

Georgia Douglas

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Featured image courtesy of Richard Allaway on Flickr. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.