5. From Fuel-Poor to Radiant: Morocco’s Energy Geopolitics and Renewable Energy Strategy

Morocco is a leader in the Middle East and North African region in renewable energy. It seeks to source 52% of its electricity capacity from renewable energy by 2030. A traditionally fuel-poor country, Morocco aims to improve its energy security and to reframe itself as an energy-wealthy country awash with renewable energy resources. It has reorganized its energy organizations to institutionalize and rapidly scale up renewable energy development. The state grapples with multiple, sometimes competing forces in its energy policy. Nearly half of its portfolio will still come from fossil fuels, impeding energy independence and constraining budgets. Its closest neighbor, Algeria, is rich in hydrocarbons, but the countries have poor relations because of the conflict over Western Sahara. This has left Morocco in search of alternatives for natural gas imports and impeded political and economic cooperation, as well as grid integration, in the Maghreb. Moreover, the Moroccan government must balance its need for securing international financing and meeting international goals with domestic pressure to achieve an inclusive energy transition that benefits marginalized stakeholders. This chapter argues that all of these complex factors must be taken into consideration to understand Morocco’s renewable energy policy, overall energy policy, and geopolitical calculus.