On the afternoon of 7 June 2025, the first windmills belonging to a company part-owned by the Moroccan Prime Minister, Aziz Akhannouch, arrived in the harbour of El Aaiún, occupied Western Sahara. 

The windmills are going to be transported overland, southwards to Dakhla, where the company Green of Africa Dakhla holds a permit to build the 360 MW Bir Anzarane wind farm. Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) first reported on the planned project in 2021. 

From what WSRW understands, this is the first cargo for the Bir Anzarane project. The shipment, which was picked up at the Spanish port of Granadilla, was transported on board the vessel BBC Greenland. 

According to the Moroccan newspaper TelQuel, Green of Africa Dakhla is 70 percent owned by Green of Africa (which in turn is a joint-venture established by O Capital Group and Akwa), and 30 percent by French company Vinci. O Capital Group is controlled by the Moroccan Benjelloun family, whereas Akwa is controlled by the family of the Moroccan prime minister.

Reportedly, the aim of the wind farm is to secure energy for a desalination plant in Casablanca, several thousand kilometers away.

WSRW wrote Vinci in February 2025 about its involvement in Green of Africa, but has obtained no response.

There are several problematic aspects of Morocco’s illegal energy projects in the territory it holds under foreign occupation. One of them is that these projects further enrich the Moroccan king and his inner circle. As recently as May, the King’s private company, Nareva, won a major tender that included the construction of a 1,400 km transmission line to transport energy generated in Western Sahara to Morocco proper. The Saharawi people has not given permission to the Moroccan government to establish such infrastructure on their territory. 

The new windmill components arriving in Western Sahara were produced in China, reportedly by Goldwind, a leading manufacturer. Transport logistics are managed by Sky Fusion Global Supply Chain from Singapore. Also involved in the operation is the Spanish firm Noatum Maritime Services, which oversees the cargo's passage through the port of Granadilla.

Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) was present at the port of Granadilla, Tenerife, on 27 May 2025, as the components were offloaded from the larger Hong Kong-flagged transport vessel Pacific Prospect. The vessel had arrived at the port of Granadilla on 24 May, having transported the cargo from the Chinese port of Jiangsu Hantong, near Shanghai. 

The arrival of this cargo to the port of Granadilla was covered by local media in Tenerife. 

BBC Greenland had been anchored off Las Teresitas beach in Tenerife for an extended period, waiting to pick up the controversial cargo. 

The local authorities in the Canary Islands appear to be fully aware that their ports are being used as a transit hub for Chinese windmills, which Moroccan and foreign companies are erecting in the occupied territory. 

It is not the first time that the port of Granadilla has been used as a transit hub for windmills destined for the occupied territory. WSRW reported on a similar incident in 2023.  

Green of Africa appears to not have a website, and WSRW has not been able to locate contact details for the company. 

Download the above video here. 

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