Imagined inclusions into a ‘green modernisation’: local politics and global visions of Morocco’s renewable energy transition

Abstract

Energy transitions in the Global South are typically said to sit somewhere between autocratic mega-projects with considerable fallout for local communities on the one hand, and promissory projects to foster a better, sustainable and more inclusive future on the other. Morocco's ambitious energy strategy entails the construction of 20 concentrated solar power (CSP) plants across the country and aims to provide energy security and position Morocco as an exporter of green energy. While energy transitions usually reflect existing power hierarchies, this article focuses on the dynamics Morocco's energy transition plan has set in motion at the local level in affected communities. Based on fieldwork in the province of Tata, where two CSP plants are planned, the article argues that the promising yet elusive vision of solar energy has created a space for political articulation and agency at the grassroots level. Morocco's energy transition is conceptualised in terms of an imaginary of 'green modernisation' that operates in two diverging dimensions: as an ideological glue legitimising and reproducing the regime's existing power by 'greening' its political-economic system; and as a site for novel forms of activism to problematise power structures and articulate demands for political participation, inclusion and public infrastructural investments.

Overcoming Barriers to Energy Transition in the MENA Region: New Institutional Dynamics

“…The country's political stability following the F20M protests, highlighted by Becheikh [47], as well as a legal and policy framework conducive to attracting investment, underscores the need for a coherent policy framework for renewable energy ventures to flourish. Furthermore, enhancing public participation in the decision-making process, as recommended by Haddad et al [97] and addressing lobbying and corruption are imperative for establishing a transparent, equitable, and democratically engaged energy policy framework. Insights from Slimani et al [99], Chentouf and Allouch [98], and the discussion of energy colonialism by Sánchez Contreras et al [100] underscore the importance of managing the renewable energy transition in a way that ensures inclusivity and equity.…”

Suspending democratic (dis)belief: Nonliberal energy polities of solar power in Morocco and Tanzania

“…Others writing about Moroccan energy politics at the grassroots levels note the ambivalence of NGOs that operate in authoritarian contexts. Tribal modalities of governance, such as the jema'a, which is the democratic assembly headed by the elder, were converted into NGOs, but with older clan associations and hierarchies intact [120]. Younger Moroccans alienated from these forms of social capital form their own civil associations that are critical of CSP [25].…”

Just Energy Transition: Learning from the Past for a More Just and Sustainable Hydrogen Transition in West Africa

“…There are numerous examples where social unrest and conflict have been created by unjust development, with examples ranging from the forceful appropriation of natural resources-land grabbing-to ecologically unsustainable and socially unfair exploitation-water grabbing and desertification [20][21][22]. Such negative examples are also frequent in the frame of the energy transition as shown in several cases: Kenya's and Africa's largest wind park [23], Brazil's wind energy program [24], Morocco's concentrated solar power stations [25], or the use of renewable energy sources in Mexico [26,27]. The existing risks and the available evidence from the past in the frame of energy transition suggest that large-scale deployment of renewable energies may also result in conflict.…”

“…Here, a direct link between development and justice is established and equitable resource distribution is considered a pre-requisite for sustainable development [31,32]. However, so far, both resource access and the benefit from new industries are often unfairly distributed, an unjust condition that may become exacerbated during the energy transition, regardless of the scale considered, whether local or global [23,25]. This is particularly the case with the increased sourcing and production of resources across the Global South for export to the Global North, whilst energy demand in the Global South is also growing and the pressure on resources needed for energy generation is increasing.…”