Morocco develops renewable energy to help solve Europe's energy crisis

Moundir Zniber, a Moroccan energy entrepreneur, said, "The resources our country has could be one of the key answers to meeting Europe's needs." He said, "I see Morocco as the best opportunity to free the continent from its current dependence on Russian gas."

Over the past 15 years, Mr Zniber has established his company Gaia Energy as one of the leaders of Morocco's renewable energy revolution. He says: "Morocco has some of the best solar and wind resources in the world. We don't have oil, we don't have gas, but we have amazing renewable energy potential."

The Russian-Ukrainian war has prompted European countries to step up their efforts to use clean energy to combat climate change. Morocco wants to be part of the solution to Europe's energy crisis. Morocco is right on Europe's doorstep and has ambitious plans to generate 52% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and wants to export large amounts of renewable energy to Europe via submarine cables.

For now, however, Morocco still needs to build more solar and wind farms. Currently, the North African country of 39 million people relies on imports for 90% of its energy needs, most of which come from fossil fuels. 80.5% of Morocco's electricity production in 2021 will come from burning coal, gas and oil. In comparison, only 12.4% will come from wind energy and 4.4% from solar energy.