Fatima Mansouri

Moroccan environmental engineer leading North Africa's renewable energy transition

Fatima Mansouri pioneered Morocco's solar energy revolution through her work at MASEN, where she designed the Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex - Africa's largest concentrated solar power plant (2016). Her Solar Future initiative trained 1,200 technicians from 15 African nations in renewable energy technologies. Mansouri's 2018 TED Talk "Sunlight for All" inspired the creation of the Sahara Solar Breeder Project, aiming to power 1 billion people by 2030. As founder of Greening Africa Network, she mobilized $200 million in green investments for off-grid solar projects in rural Morocco and Algeria. Her research on photovoltaic efficiency improvements was published in Nature Energy (2019), earning her the Global Energy Prize (2020). Mansouri's advocacy led to Morocco's 2019 Renewable Energy Act, which mandates 52% renewable energy usage by 2030. Her team's work at UNEP has shaped climate policies for 12 Mediterranean countries.