Morocco bets on desalination to combat water shortages

As the world enters an era of "water scarcity" and much of the world is forced to adapt to a hotter, drier future, both cities and farms may increasingly rely on desalination - the transformation of seawater into freshwater.

In 2024, there were more than 22,000 desalination plants in operation worldwide, the majority in the Middle East and North Africa - the most water-scarce regions on the planet. A growing number of African nations are investing in this technology, and by 2030, Morocco aims to obtain 60% of its drinking water from the ocean.

In January, the country declared the end of a seven-year drought, following a winter of heavy rains that refilled reservoirs that had reached historically low levels. But the relief did not change Morocco's long-term strategy.

"Depending exclusively on rain and the flow of dams is no longer enough," Nizar Baraka, Morocco's Minister of Equipment and Water, told CNN. Drought, he added, is no longer "an exceptional or temporary phenomenon. What we are witnessing is a structural transformation of the climate cycle."

Morocco's plan is to turn the Atlantic into freshwater for drinking and irrigating crops in coastal cities, while water from dams and rainwater will flow inland to farms and oases most vulnerable to drought. But the process is expensive - both financially and environmentally.

A nation for desalination
Morocco's strategy is led by a $650 million project under construction about 40 kilometers south of Casablanca.

It will be the largest desalination plant in Africa and, according to its developers, the largest in the world powered entirely by renewable energy - getting its power from a 360-megawatt wind farm in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Phase I is expected to come into operation in February 2027, with Phase II completed in August 2028. At full capacity, it will pump 79 billion gallons of drinking water per year to 7.5 million people in the Casablanca region and irrigate 20,000 acres of farmland.

The country already operates 17 desalination plants, producing about 108 billion gallons of water per year - nine times more than in 2021 - and 11 more are planned or under construction, Baraka explained.

Panoramic view of the pipes and pumping systems of the Douira desalination plant, which processes large volumes of seawater from the Atlantic Ocean. Douira, Souss-Massa, Morocco, July 2025 - The Washington Post via Getty Im
To finance and build these megaprojects, Morocco adopted PPPs (public-private partnerships).

In the case of Casablanca, financing was completed in May 2025, with Acciona, a Spanish multinational conglomerate specializing in renewable energy and water resources management, as the main developer, together with Moroccan partners, and the Spanish government covering more than half the cost.

The desalination project is part of a broader national water resources plan worth approximately $14 billion.

The project also funds the construction of dams, the reuse of wastewater and a network of "water highways" - pipelines that transport surplus rainwater from northern river basins to drier regions in the south.

Environmental impact
Most modern desalination plants use a process called seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO): high-pressure pumps force seawater through thin membranes that filter out the salt.

The technology is reliable but energy-intensive, so most power plants around the world run on fossil fuels - emitting carbon that contributes to global warming, in order to solve a climate problem.

Morocco's plan is to integrate new desalination plants with wind and solar farms, taking advantage of the country's vast renewable energy potential. "The objective is twofold," said Baraka.

"First, reduce long-term operating costs and second, minimize the carbon footprint of water production." By 2024, renewable energy will generate just over a quarter of the country's electricity.

But desalination has another impact on the environment. Each gallon of freshwater produced leaves behind 1 to 1.5 gallons of brine - water with chemical residue and twice the salt concentration of sea water - which is normally returned to the ocean.

Mismanagement of brine can damage marine ecosystems, creating low-oxygen "death zones" that decimate seagrass beds and plankton populations.

The new Casablanca plant has a 2.4-kilometer discharge pipe designed to dilute brine before it reaches the seabed.

While the researchers consider dilution an ideal approach, they note that Morocco has no national regulations defining the amount needed, and limits at many plants are set by financiers rather than law.

Energy for agriculture
The agricultural sector consumes 87% of Morocco's water and employs almost a third of the country's workforce. However, the seven-year drought halved cereal production and led to rising unemployment in rural areas.

Desalination is presented as a solution to irrigating fields without rain - for those who can afford it.

In Souss-Massa - the region responsible for 85% of Morocco's fruit and vegetable exports - the Chtouka Aït Baha desalination plant supplies 1,500 farmers who grow tomatoes and fruit, mainly for European supermarkets.

Mohamed Boumarg, who previously cultivated 12 acres of cherry tomatoes, managed to grow 50, with 60% destined for export. "Desalination saved agriculture in Chtouka," he told AFP in July 2025.

A farm manager told AFP they had to accept the higher price for desalinated water, "or we would go out of business."

Youssef Brouziyne, regional representative for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), told CNN that seawater desalination "remains 1.5 to 4 times more expensive than many traditional freshwater sources."

Brouziyne explained that desalination can, in fact, sustain areas like Chtouka: "coastal, high-value-added, export-oriented, greenhouse-based production where water productivity and margins justify the cost."

"Desalinated water," he added, "despite the notable cost savings achieved by Morocco and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, is still too expensive for large-scale irrigated agriculture", leaving staple crops like wheat dependent on seasonal rains.

For small farmers, he noted, access will depend on targeted subsidies, mixing desalinated water with cheaper sources like treated wastewater, smaller solar-powered systems, and growing crops that yield enough to justify the cost.

Cooperation is key.
Last December, Morocco hosted the World Water Congress in Marrakech, where Baraka presented the country's experience as proof that water, energy and food security can be addressed together.

"Our goal," he said, "is not to present a single model to be copied, but to share experiences, knowledge and practical solutions that can be adapted to the specific needs of each country."

Across Africa, desalination is gaining ground. Algeria already operates one of the largest desalination programs in the Mediterranean, Egypt is rapidly expanding its capacity and Senegal signed an $800 million contract with Saudi Arabia-based ACWA Power for a renewable energy plant near Dakar.

While most capacity remains concentrated in North Africa, Namibia and South Africa have been desalinating seawater for more than a decade and are also developing smaller solar-powered plants.

For agriculture, the consequences are continental. With 95% of Africa's agricultural land dependent on rain, irrigation could double productivity in water-stressed areas.

As the costs of desalination continue to fall due to improved technology and its combination with cheaper renewable energy, it could increasingly power African farms.

Rather than developing infrastructure in parallel, Brouziyne argued, African nations need to share knowledge, financing and technology - work that entities such as the Council of African Water Ministers and the Africa Water Vision 2063 framework are coordinating, along with research institutions such as IWMI.

Morocco's model is not just about desalination megaprojects, he added, but also about the set of measures that involve them, from the country's legal preparation to long-term planning.

Fundamentally, he notes, "no major public-private water partnership operates without significant public support, and farmers can become the most vulnerable link if affordability is not considered in the design."

"Long-term water security is not just about producing more cubic meters," Brouziyne added, "but about generating more resilience, more value and more equity per cubic meter."

Source: CNN