Revolutionary Plan Aims to Blanket Sahara with Solar Panels, Powering Britain’s Energy Needs

Thousands of mirrors are arranged in circular patterns on the outskirts of Marrakesh, directing the sun’s beams onto an 800-foot tower at their center.

The stunning structure, known as the Ouarzazate Solar Power Station, is just one of several megaprojects created in Morocco to capitalize on the country’s vast solar and wind power potential.

With so much desert covering the country, analysts believe North Africa is ready to emerge as a renewable energy superpower on Europe’s doorstep.

The country has already established itself as an African leader in renewable energy, and it hopes to strengthen ties with its European neighbors, especially the United Kingdom. The North African country may become an important partner in the race to “net zero.”

Moroccan energy transition minister Leila Benali is cautious about her country’s prospects.

When asked about its “superpower” potential, she laughs, “you can use whatever adjective you want,” but she doesn’t enjoy big announcements. “I prefer to work quietly.”

The ambition of her country speaks for itself. Renewables currently account for 40% of Morocco’s installed electricity generation capacity, with the goal of exceeding 50% by 2030.

“I am pretty confident we will reach that,” Benali said during a meeting at her country’s embassy in London.

Through a combination of solar, wind, and hydro schemes, the country now has approximately four gigatonnes of installed renewable capacity. It will need to triple that figure in order to meet its 2030 aim.

“This is part of a journey that began two decades ago with His Majesty, the King’s vision,” Benali explains.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Morocco’s annual economic output in 2021 will be around $142 billion, a minuscule fraction of the UK’s output of $3.1 trillion in the same year.

In addition, the government has battled to reduce poverty in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak and the food and energy crisis caused by the Ukraine war.

However, Benali and her government colleagues hope that renewables can help improve their country’s fortunes in the same manner that oil did for Norway.

It will be critical to find new revenue streams: Morocco is one of the most vulnerable countries in the region to the effects of climate change, with already tightening agriculture and water resources due to high heat and droughts.

Morocco intends to gather brilliant Saharan light with conventional solar panels in addition to the concentrated solar power complex in the Ouarzazate basin. These can produce three times as much power in North Africa as they would in the UK.

Morocco’s renewable energy portfolio is completed by wind farms that harness hot desert gusts and hydropower units.

Europe is likely to be a major market for the country’s power exports. After Russian gas supplies were depleted last year, the region is scrambling to discover alternative sources of clean energy.

There are currently two power interconnectors and one gas pipeline running through the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco. Larger projects are being planned, including one that would establish a direct link between Morocco and the United Kingdom.

The Xlinks proposal, overseen by former Tesco executive Dave Lewis, would create 10.5 gigatonnes of electricity from solar panels and wind turbines across 930 square kilometers in western Morocco.

It would then transfer 3.6 gigatonnes of power directly to the UK through a 2,300-mile undersea cable that would follow the shores of Spain and France before touching touchdown in Devon.

Lewis, who departed Tesco little under three years ago, had wanted to complete the project by 2027. However, he recently argued that political turmoil in Downing Street made that timescale currently implausible.

The Xlink project was highlighted in the government’s new ‘Powering up Britain’ policy, and Morocco sees this as a positive sign.

Benali praises the idea, saying it “will help both countries in tackling their energy security, tackling their sustainability plans, and also flexibility and agility.”

Does she want UK ministers to move faster?

“I think this will take some time,” she predicts. “It’s a sovereign choice.” I’m not there to influence or put pressure on my colleagues because I wouldn’t want them to put pressure on me.”

“Our role as policymakers is to reduce energy costs… but it is also to build agile and resilient energy systems,” she adds.

“We don’t need other wars or crises to remind us of the importance of working together.” We must ensure that our economic structures and industrial systems in Morocco and the United Kingdom are focused on what they do best, rather than worrying about access to low-cost, low-carbon energy.”

Some have questioned Morocco’s goals, questioning whether it makes sense for the country to send power abroad when it still heavily relies on fossil fuels.

According to the International Energy Agency, the country generated approximately 65 percent of its power from coal in 2020, the most recent year for which numbers are available. Oil accounted for over 60% of the country’s total energy supply.

In addition, the country imports nearly 90% of the energy it consumes. Shouldn’t Morocco prioritize its own needs?

“I don’t think it’s a trade off,” says Benali. “There has always been a [difference] between trading energy and consuming it locally since the world began consuming energy, which is the beginning of humanity.”

Offering renewable energy for export is critical for recruiting “private investors, both national and international,” according to her.

“However, the absolute priority number one is to provide Morocco with access to low-cost, low-carbon energy.”

Benali thinks that the UK can assist Morocco in developing some renewable energy projects that investors are avoiding – ironically due to climate risk.

“Some developers are hesitant to assist us in financing long-term projects because they are unsure how their plants – whether wind farms, solar, or even hydro with the multiple droughts we are experiencing – will perform in 15 or 20 years,” she continues.

“The business model developed by the electricity sector over the last 30 years is being challenged.”

“Today, with our British friends… I’d like to begin thinking about how we can price climate risk in order to speed the creation and implementation of these renewable projects, because that’s what we need.