Kingdom of the Sun: a critical, multiscalar analysis of Morocco's solar energy strategy

Over the last decade, Moroccan administrations have developed a daring energy strategy, anchored by a large increase in renewables and supported by international finance institutions. In this paper, we use a multiscalar and multidisciplinary approach to examine a core element of this energy strategy—the Moroccan Solar Plan. When analyzed for its connections to the Euro-African Desertec Project, the Solar Plan illustrates the transnational governance implications of regional energy projects, simultaneously supporting European renewable energy goals and Moroccan geopolitical aims. However, we argue that an exclusive focus on energy transition at larger geographic scales can obscure the local governance implications of large-scale renewable projects. We explore such implications by reviewing how local populations were integrated into the project's design and implementation. Thus, we employ a hybrid STS/critical geography approach to explore the parallel processes of land acquisition and technological decision-making for a solar power plant in southeastern Morocco; and to illustrate how Morocco's regional aspirations were intertwined with the territorialization goals associated with the government's political centralism. We argue that the ways in which the Moroccan government constructed the land's marginality and made technological decisions for the plant illustrate how renewable energy discourses can extend existing relations of power into new domains of governance.