Crossroad of Politics
and Renewable Energy in Morocco
Why Morocco
should invest in Solar Power is not a mere question of energy sufficiency but
is a deep political statement those who are familiar with the Western Sahara
conflict will grasp. Morocco in most of its geography is a sometimes rocky
mountain plateau and other times plain fields in the North, while most of the
South including the disputed Sahara is a vast desert stretching over kilometers
and kilometers. With such a geographic blessing, not only wind power can
flourish in the North, but half the country’s area can be covered with Solar
panels.
This opportunity
spotted by Japanese, Korean, European and US firms and well-studied, has
dragged a staunch investment wave which reached its pic with the unveiling of
one of the leading world investments in Energy: A multi-billion 12-square-kilometre
Moroccan Renewable Energy complex.
With the
help of leading Energy companies such as Desertec , and with the generous
financing of the world Bank and the European Union among others, Morocco will
become the leading Energy producer and exporter across the Mediterranean,
calming the fears of the EU policy makers who projected doubts upon the Helios
Project in Greece, a 10-GW photovoltaic project meant to assure EU provisioning
with Energy.
Further readings:
Now, the
question is: Where does politics come in the frame? And how can Morocco turn an
Energy project into a Foreign Policy battle horse?
Those
accustomed with the moving strings of diplomacy and foreign affairs will link
Energy dependency and political alliance in this case, the same way we ought to
do in the case of Iraq where Kurdish oil rich region and US Kurdish favoritism and
support have a lot of in common!
Morocco, by
allowing international investors pour their billions into colossal Solar Energy
sites, not only benefits from infrastructure development and Energy sufficiency
advance, but assures for itself a long lasting partnership with Europe and
Western Key players both in the political and business world who will be keen
in doing political favors for the kingdom when needed. Moroccan consent to host
power generating projects aimed at supplying the EU with electricity must be
sustained, and the common currencies for such tasks are finance and politics.
One would
think that the Energy production process is constrained to turning sunlight
into current, yet the most crucial phase extends beyond operating ovens and
lighting bulbs with Moroccan electricity, it actually starts for Moroccan
policy makers from turning precious Sahara sun light into electricity, then into
money and political support.
This
political support can be translated into a Western backing in the Western
Sahara dossier, a controversial case where a non-self-governing territory is
under Moroccan rule against international law and UN resolutions.
An easy way
to confirm once and for ever the Moroccan rule over the Western Sahara doesn’t
need political assiduity or Foreign policy brilliance. By investing into solar
panel fields in the Western Sahara through its local Renewable Energy branches,
Morocco would not only escape UN, EU and US restrictions on companies from
investing in a disputed territory as well as being the main stake holder in the
projects, increasing thus the profit, but would also put the World in front of the
“Fait Accompli”. Energy dependency overcomes political and ethical considerations,
and so the EU won’t have much of a choice but to import Electricity from
Morocco, energy produced in a territory the EU doesn’t recognize Moroccan sovereignty
over. This business partnership would have a deep political meaning: We
recognize Moroccan control over Western Sahara since we buy goods produced
there…As easy as that!
Putting
ourselves in the shoes of EU policy makers will give us a clear understanding
of the situation:
“Ok, so we’re
running out of oil and the prices of fuel are skyrocketing in a time where our
economies are shaking. We can import electricity from Morocco with a low price
since we are major investors in the country’s Renewable Energy projects and we
can lower the prices even more though political support and diplomatic backup
of the kingdom, but that would mean importing goods produced using resources of
a disputed if not occupied territory, thus breaching international law and recognizing
Moroccan sovereignty over the WS … Hmmm, I guess hell with international law
and ethics, we have an economy to feed and citizens to satisfy, the interests
of the EU citizen come first”
Not only
would being addicted to Moroccan Renewable Energy supply lay the foundations
for political partnerships, but can also set the place for military and
security strategic alliance as Energy output in the Power plants is directly
linked to social stability and security. The EU would be prone in making sure
these plants are operating full time, and if necessary as in the past years
where the Western Sahara has witnesses strong clashes and protests by Polisario
supporters, disrupting commerce and businesses (Polisario is the Liberation
front adopted by the Sahrawis as representative and political body charged of Sahrawi
affairs and struggle), would be ready to support the Moroccan government in
pacifying the region with appropriate anti-protests weapons and equivalent
silence over Human Rights abuses and over use of power with the local “dissidents”.
(History taught us about how much can be deployed by states in order to secure
resources and industries such as heavy military protection of pipelines or the Gulf
war among others)
In
conclusion, investments are far more powerful than simple financial tools for
economy leverage. Investments can prove to be strategic political cards if
placed and set in the right place, and foreign policy sometimes is better
served by businessmen and corporations than by cultivated diplomats.
Mohamed Amine Belarbi