The Moroccan city of Ouarzazate, about 200km southeast of Marrakech, lies on the edge of the Sahara and is known as the ‘door to the desert.’

Ouarzazate is probably best known for the Atlas Film Studios, where blockbusters from “The Mummy” to “Gladiator” and “Game of Thrones” have been filmed. But a new industry is taking shape.

Near the city, lying on a high plateau that is hemmed by the Atlas Mountains, one of the world’s largest solar power plants is being built. It is named Noor, meaning light in Arabic.

Stretching over nearly 500 hectares, the solar facility produces enough energy to power more than a million homes in . But this is not a typical solar farm.

Fossil fuels still dominate energy mix

Instead of commonly seen black PV panels, Noor uses concentrated solar power. A field of two million giant mirrors reflect the sun’s rays onto a central receiver that sits at the top of a 247 meter tower. The concentrated sunlight melts molten salt to 600 degrees Celsius (1,112 degrees Fahrenheit). That makes steam, which spins turbines, generating electricity even hours after sunset.

In Ouarzazate, however, electricity remains expensive. Most households are not dependent on solar, but on butane gas. So why hasn’t clean energy arrived for the local community?

One reason is the nation’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels, and especially coal-fired power generation. Intissar Fakir, a senior fellow and founding director of the North Africa and the Sahel program at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C. says this has slowed the nation’s clean energy transition.

“Just the fossil fuel-generated electricity contributes about 48% of the country’s energy related greenhouse gas emissions,” she said.

Moroccans spend around $110 (€94) of their $550 average monthly income on electricity. This is in a hot and dry country, where residents rely on air conditioning or a fan to stay cool. It’s regularly over 40 degrees Celsius in Ouarzazate during the summer, and the number of hot days and nights has roughly doubled in the region since the 1970s.

This expense is partly down to the fact that Morocco does not produce any fossil fuels domestically, and imports about 90% of its coal, oil and gas, Fakir explained. Energy market and price fluctuations mean fossil fuel imports consume a major portion of the national budget, making the switch away from planet-heating coal, oil and gas increasingly urgent.

Power grid limitations delays energy transition 

That said, Morocco has made more progress on renewables than most North African countries.

“Even by global standards, Morocco’s transition plan is pretty ambitious,” said the Moroccan energy policy expert. By 2030, the country plans to be able to power its economy with 52% of renewable electricity. By 2050, it’s aiming for 70% clean power capacity. And considering that the country has ample sun and coastal wind, the conditions seem right.

The Noor solar plant might be the star of Morocco’s shift to renewables, but it’s just one of around two dozen solar, wind and hydro mega-projects already built. Another several dozen are in the pipeline.

The country has also recently pledged to phase out coal power entirely by 2040 as part of its clean energy transition.

But it has some catching up to do. While it currently has enough renewable technology to generate 46% of its electricity, in 2023 the North African nation only achieved a little over half of that. 

“The actual output in the country’s ability to integrate what Noor produces remains quite limited,” said Fakir. “Morocco still needs to invest in its grid capacity so they can integrate more of these renewable energies into daily use.” This includes investment in ways to store energy.

She says more investment is also needed if the country is to realize its goal of selling its clean power abroad — especially to Europe.

“Even as solar panels and wind turbines get cheaper, building large-scale, clean energy systems like Noor still takes serious upfront investment for low income countries,” she explained.

Are mega-projects the way forward for renewables?

Researchers and civil society organisations have also been critical of the government’s focus on mega-projects like Noor instead of more decentralised, small-scale clean energy schemes, including rooftop PV panels for homes, businesses and farms.

One critique is that concentrated solar power is very water intensive. Its millions of mirrors need to be cleaned with water to remove sand and dust that get in the way of their ability to reflect light. In addition, a lot of grazing land was appropriated from local farmers to host Noor with little consultation.

The project has divided locals, many of whom have seen few benefits. Imrane, am 83-year old resident said electricity is still very expensive for villagers, adding that the solar tower’s mirrors and concentrated sunlight has driven up temperatures in their villages.

Fakir says that, despite the expense, the Noor solar project was an experiment.

“These are great flagship projects that prove the extent of Morocco’s technical capabilities,” she said. “But they also again highlight the challenge that even with these massive investments, renewables are still struggling to displace the entrenched coal and fossil fuel generation.”

Edited by: Stuart Braun

This article was adapted from a DW Living Planet radio series on solar energy. Click here to listen.