- A new international report suggests Morocco is shifting into a new form of dependence rather than gaining real control over its resources.
- One of the report’s main concerns is that Morocco’s largest renewable projects are designed primarily for export.
Morocco’s rapid push into renewable energy is moving forward, but a new international report suggests the country is shifting into a new form of dependence rather than gaining real control over its resources.
Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa warns that Morocco’s solar, wind, and upcoming green hydrogen projects are increasingly being built around the needs of European markets and foreign investors, rather than Moroccan households or local development.
In its report, the organisation states that, despite Morocco being regarded as a regional leader in clean energy, strategic decisions are still heavily influenced by foreign financial institutions and international companies.
The study gives Morocco a score of 5.5 out of 10 in a newly developed “energy sovereignty index,” showing significant gaps in how the country manages and commands its own energy transition.
One of the report’s main concerns is that Morocco’s largest renewable projects are designed primarily for export.
Solar and wind farms, along with highly promoted green hydrogen plans, are increasingly geared toward meeting European demand.
Greenpeace states that this trend puts pressure on Morocco’s land and water resources, while offering limited benefits to nearby communities.
It warns that this model risks turning some regions into “green sacrifice zones” where profits and technologies flow abroad, and local residents gain very little.
Despite massive investments in clean power, Morocco still relies heavily on fossil fuels, with 91 per cent of its energy coming from coal, oil, and gas.
The report says that this dependence slows progress toward true energy independence. It also criticises what it calls “false solutions,” such as rebranding by oil companies, carbon-capture technologies, and blue hydrogen, which it says protect corporate interests more than the public.
Greenpeace points out another major issue, which is the financial structure of Morocco’s large energy projects.
Contracts like BOO and PPP models, it says, guarantee stable profits for foreign companies while offering few social or environmental benefits for Moroccans.
Local communities currently receive only one to three cents for every dollar generated by fossil-fuel activity, and similar patterns are now appearing in renewable megaprojects, which offer no serious mechanisms for local ownership, participation, or revenue-sharing.
Greenpeace says Morocco can achieve genuine energy sovereignty, but only if the transition prioritises people: guaranteeing that part of energy production stays for local use, creating community funds from project revenues, and enforcing strict rules on transparency and accountability.