Moroccan national authorities wishes to build electricity infrastructure in Dakhla, occupied Western Sahara.
In an ad in today's issue of Financial Times, the Moroccan state electricity company Office National de l'Electricité invites for a tendering round for building a 500 MW solar installation in Dakhla.
ONE claims Dakhla to lie within "the Kingdom of Morocco". No state, however, recognises this area as Moroccan. The area is considered as occupied by the UN.
The tender is thus opened for infrastructure work on occupied land. The operation date is set to December 2010.
Western Sahara was occupied by Morocco in 1975, in violation of international law. The International Court of Justice had at the time decided the Moroccan claims to the territory was unfounded.
GE Vernova, Siemens Energy and Larsen & Toubro are among the multinationals that have reportedly expressed interest to aid Morocco transport energy generated in occupied Western Sahara to Morocco proper.
The US company GE Vernova is seemingly gambling with its lucrative projects elsewhere when it operates in occupied Western Sahara for the Moroccan government.
The French company Engie has since 2023 been installing windmills in occupied Western Sahara for a massive project that would lead to the large-scale settlement of Moroccan farmers in the occupied territory.
How can it be wrong to develop renewable energy, in a world that is in desperate need for a green transition? In Western Sahara, the problems are numerous.