Fuel for Thought blog: ADSW shows how we can get people to care about renewables

A Moroccan man saw how Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week got his sister's children excited about renewable energy, and now wants to bring that passion to his country. That's the knock-on effect of ADSW.

The Noor Power Station 1 in Ouarzazate, Morocco. Courtesy Dewa

One night in Marrakech, I was speaking to a 31-year old Moroccan who has dreams of bringing renewable energy into the lives of locals. More specifically, he wants Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week to reach his country.

A couple of years ago, the event made his radar when his sister, who resides in Abu Dhabi with her family, took her children to ADSW-sponsored activities for families. These types of side events feature a festival prime for families, spanning from arts and crafts, such as making recycled jewelry, to an arcade alley with games dubbed terms like “energy zapper”, and even an innovation centre highlighting solar ovens and solar car racing.

The children couldn’t stop talking to their uncle about the activities and everything that they had learned. He said: “I want to bring that to Morocco.”

It's the knock-on effect that such an event has – evident in the excitement from his sister's children. Parents learn from their kids. In fact, the Journal of Communication released a study a few years ago that said children are teaching parents much more about technology, from basic computer use to social media – about 40 per cent of new technologies are introduced to parents by their children.

And in his opinion, Morocco needs this to better explain the strides his country is making.

Morocco is very progressive in its renewable energy sector. The country is looking to have 42 per cent of its energy come from solar, wind and hydropower in just three years – totaling more than US$12 billion in investments. There are several projects already completed and more well on their way to reaching fruition.

In fact, Morocco is really the shining star for renewables in North Africa. But according to the 31-year old, many Moroccans simply do not understand.

It is really no different than many places.

People only understand the magnitude of these types of projects when it directly impacts them – “How will my electricity bill change?” And this question is harder to answer than it appears.

Sure, technologies such as wind and solar are good from an environmental perspective. However, try explaining that Morocco spends about $50bn annually on energy imports to meet local demands, but thanks to renewables the country will save money by lowering its import bill. This means more capital can be spent for better infrastructure, such as an interstate highway system or railway, which increases trade and the economy.

Then there are the employment benefits.

There were 8.1 million jobs in renewable energy in 2015, according to the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency. The solar complex in Ouarzazate will employee 1.1 million people by the time the project is finished, expected next year.

Yet folks still ask about their power bills.

But that night in Marrakech, the Moroccan brainstormed ways to spread the word in terms that people can understand from community activities to solar plant tours. And I watched him work the floor at COP22 encouraging his fellow citizens to visit Ouarzazate so that they may also see the value in the project. You might say his idea came from Abu Dhabi.

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