Why Morocco is leading the charge against climate change

By Jacopo Prisco, CNN

Updated 1032 GMT (1832 HKT) December 12, 2016

Morocco's Noor 1 solar plant outside Ouarzazate is among the nation's cutting edge renewable energy projects. When it is completed in 2018 it will produce enough clean energy to power one million homes.
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Morocco's Noor 1 solar plant outside Ouarzazate is among the nation's cutting edge renewable energy projects. When it is completed in 2018 it will produce enough clean energy to power one million homes.
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In the desert 12.5 miles outside of town, the plant's first stage has been completed. Its parabolic mirrors will play a significant role in contributing towards the nation's target of generating 40 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020.
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In the desert 12.5 miles outside of town, the plant's first stage has been completed. Its parabolic mirrors will play a significant role in contributing towards the nation's target of generating 40 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020.
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Morocco is oil scarce, and is utilizing a variety of energy solutions to put the country at the forefront of sustainability -- not just in Africa, but globally. Morocco ranks seventh in the world in the 2016 Climate Change Performance Index, and is the only non-European country in the top 20.
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Morocco is oil scarce, and is utilizing a variety of energy solutions to put the country at the forefront of sustainability -- not just in Africa, but globally. Morocco ranks seventh in the world in the 2016 Climate Change Performance Index, and is the only non-European country in the top 20.
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In 2010 a $300 million wind farm was inaugurated near Tangier (pictured). With 165 turbines and a production capacity of 140 megawatts, it has since been superseded by the Tarfaya wind farm -- also in Morocco and the largest in Africa -- which produces 850 megawatt hours.
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In 2010 a $300 million wind farm was inaugurated near Tangier (pictured). With 165 turbines and a production capacity of 140 megawatts, it has since been superseded by the Tarfaya wind farm -- also in Morocco and the largest in Africa -- which produces 850 megawatt hours.
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The renewable wind energy sector is bolstering the manufacturing sector. Seventy percent of the spare parts for the turbines at Tarfaya (pictured) are constructed locally.
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The renewable wind energy sector is bolstering the manufacturing sector. Seventy percent of the spare parts for the turbines at Tarfaya (pictured) are constructed locally.
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"Making electricity is only a part of a larger strategy," says Said Mouline, director of the National Agency for the Development of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. With the country made up of 78 percent desert or dry zones, according to one estimate, water conservation is key.
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"Making electricity is only a part of a larger strategy," says Said Mouline, director of the National Agency for the Development of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. With the country made up of 78 percent desert or dry zones, according to one estimate, water conservation is key.
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One part of that fight is the ability to store water, particularly for agriculture, which uses up as much as 85% of Morocco's supply. The country has about 140 dams with a total storage of 635 billion cubic feet of water.
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One part of that fight is the ability to store water, particularly for agriculture, which uses up as much as 85% of Morocco's supply. The country has about 140 dams with a total storage of 635 billion cubic feet of water.
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Morocco solar field Scenes from the fieldGettyImages-508443546Noor 2GettyImages-102969230GettyImages-168981013GettyImages-103721154GettyImages-168981019

Story highlights

  • Morocco plans to run off 52% green energy by 2030
  • The country enshrined sustainability in its constitution in 2011

Marrakech, Morocco (CNN)Renewable energy is taking off in Morocco.

In 2014 the country opened the largest wind farm in Africa, valued at $1.4 billion, in the southwest near the city of Tarfaya. Then, in early 2016, it switched on the first facility of the world's largest concentrated solar plant, Noor-1, on the fringe of the Sahara desert. When completed in 2018, it will power one million homes and make Morocco a solar superpower.
    And while the country is still heavily reliant on energy imports (90 percent in 2013, according to the World Bank), it plans to generate 40 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020.
      Following this road has led to Morocco hosting the UN's 2016 summit on climate change, COP22, in Marrakech. So what lies ahead?

      Cutting the energy bill

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      Morocco ranks seventh in the world in the 2016 Climate Change Performance Index, and is the only non-European country in the top 20.
      It's also one of only five countries to have achieved a "sufficient" rating for its efforts to keep warming below 2°C in the Climate Action Tracker (no country has achieved the "role model" rating as of yet, so "sufficient" is currently the best grade).