The Moroccan state utility ONEE has officially announced the awarding of a major infrastructure contract to a consortium formed by Emirati firm TAQA, Moroccan energy firm Nareva - owned by the Moroccan monarchy - and the Fonds Mohammed VI pour l’Investissement. 

The deal includes the construction of a 1,400 km high-voltage “Electric Highway” and 1,200 megawatts of new wind power capacity, all to be developed within occupied Western Sahara, a territory classified as non-self-governing by the United Nations and largely occupied by Morocco since 1975.

The infrastructure package, unveiled in a press release by ONEE on 19 May 2025, is part of what Moroccan authorities describe as a strategic national infrastructure investment aimed at boosting renewable energy capacity and national energy security. 

“This ambitious rhetoric hides a deeply troubling reality: the greenwashing of an illegal occupation. This is not just an energy project: it is an annexation project in disguise”, says Sara Eyckmans form Western Sahara Resource Watch.

The “Electric Highway” is a 1,400 km high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line with a capacity of 3,000 megawatts, that will stretch from the southern areas of occupied Western Sahara to central Morocco. This backbone infrastructure is designed to integrate electricity from renewable installations in Western Sahara into Morocco’s national grid, enabling large-scale evacuation of electricity from the occupied territory to large cities and industry hubs in Morocco proper.

That the contract for the transmission line went to TAQA comes as a surprise, as the firm was not among the short list of companies that had expressed interest in the project, published by ONEE in November 2024.  

TAQA’s contract also includes the development of 1,200 MW of wind energy capacity located entirely in occupied Western Sahara, specifically between Boujdour and Dakhla. The locations of the wind farms are depicted on the map below that was included in ONEE’s press release. 

Morocco's development of such massive renewable energy infrastructure without the consent of the Saharawi people constitutes a violation of international law. 

The International Court of Justice has concluded Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over Western Sahara to be unfounded. Over the past decade, other international courts, including the European Court of Justice and the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, have all underlined Morocco’s lack of sovereignty or administering power over the territory, while highlighting the Saharawi people’s right to consent, per their right to self-determination.

As previously reported by WSRW, Morocco is aggressively expanding its renewable energy projects in occupied Western Sahara. These projects, which are implemented without Saharawi consent, are increasingly integrated into Morocco’s national development plans. The Electric Highway is a cornerstone in that strategy.

"Morocco is using renewable energy to entrench its occupation, and companies like TAQA are enabling this through their involvement," says Sara Eyckmans. "By connecting the occupied land to its grid, Morocco deepens its control over Western Sahara, economically and infrastructurally. This undermines the UN’s efforts to resolve the conflict in Western Sahara in line with the Saharawi people's right to self-determination and only serves to entrench the occupation under the guise of green development."

The Electric Highway and the 1,200 MW wind power capacity are part of a broader partnership between TAQA, Nareva, and the Moroccan state. According to reporting by Le Desk, the same consortium has secured agreements to develop seawater desalination plants and combined-cycle gas power stations, seemingly to be developed in Morocco proper. 

TAQA, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s state-owned TAQA Group, has previously been named by the Moroccan government in the context of green hydrogen and wind power production. In addition, TAQA Morocco has elaborated on 600 MW plans in “Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab”, the southern part of Western Sahara, in a financial report and a media report from 2023. TAQA also bid on the Tiskrad and Boujdour wind farm tender back in 2013. WSRW wrote to the company at the time, but received no reply. The firm’s further entrenchment in the territory’s energy infrastructure, alongside the Moroccan conglomerate Nareva, a subsidiary of the royal holding Al Mada, highlights growing UAE-Morocco cooperation at the expense of international law and Saharawi rights.

 

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