In June, Moroccan media reported that YNNA, a Moroccan holding company, has entered into a joint venture with UAE-based Amea Power to build a 100 MW wind farm near El Aaiún, in occupied Western Sahara. 

AMEA Power is a renewable energy developer and subsidiary of the Emirati conglomerate Al Nowais Investments. Construction is reportedly slated to begin in late 2025, with operations expected to start in 2027. The farm will supply green electricity to all YNNA subsidiaries. 

The project is the latest addition to a growing list of renewable energy installations that Morocco is developing in the territory it holds under illegal occupation. Morocco’s national energy strategy relies heavily on projects located in Western Sahara, including plans for a 1,400 km transmission line to transport electricity generated from solar and wind sources in the occupied territory to Casablanca and other parts of Morocco.

Western Sahara is recognised by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory. The International Court of Justice has explicitly rejected Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over the area, affirming instead the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination - that is, the right to freely decide the political status of their land and to control its natural resources.

That legal principle has been echoed in ten consecutive rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which have confirmed that any economic activity in Western Sahara must have the consent of the Saharawi people. As far as WSRW can tell, no renewable energy project in the territory - whether operational or planned - has met this condition.

“Initiatives like the Amea Power-YNNA wind farm risk locking in the occupation under the pretext of energy security, while sidelining the Saharawi people’s rights,” says Sara Eyckmans of Western Sahara Resource Watch. “Morocco is using ‘green transition’ projects on occupied land to bring in foreign companies - and by extension, foreign governments - in an attempt to legitimise its claim to a territory over which it has no legal sovereignty.”

In March 2025, eight UN Special Rapporteurs issued a joint statement urging Morocco to halt the demolition of Saharawi homes as it expands its green energy projects in the territory. The statement followed renewed concerns about systemic repression of Saharawi voices, including journalists, activists, and human rights defenders.

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