The view of Meknes, Morocco, is an impressive sight atop the roof of the Ibis Moussafir Hotel. The skyline is defined by its palatial architecture and towering stone walls--vestiges of the city's one-time status as Roman Empire fortress. Yet, the cityscape view is not this hotel's only attraction. The Ibis rooftop is also home to a solar collector array 98m2 in surface area that powers an 8,000L system servicing nearly all of the 104-room hotel's hot water. A solar water heating system of this scale is the first of its kind in Meknes and may serve as a model for future solar technology development in the region.

However, solar energy developments in North Africa are not confined to the local level and have the potential for profound international impact. In March 2009, the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change convened in Copenhagen and instilled renewed hope in a plan to electrify all of Europe by leveraging solar resources in the Sahara. The Congress refocused attention on the EUMENA-DESERTEC plan, initially developed by the Trans-Mediterranean Energy Corporation to install a network of solar thermal plants would be scattered throughout the so-called MENA countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Parabolic trough collecting mirrors would concentrate sunlight onto receiver tubes containing a conducting fluid. Extreme heat would boil the fluid and drive steam turbines to produce clean power exportable to the European Union. The initiative would certainly help the EU member countries realize their pledge to reduce greenhouse emissions by at least 15% from current levels by 2020. Furthermore, Saharan solar energy could allow Europe to sever its risky dependence on natural gas from Russia, which recently cut off supplies to Europe as a part of a dispute with Ukraine.