Fatima-Zahra Mansouri

Pioneered renewable energy solutions in Morocco through solar technology innovations, transforming rural access to electricity.

Fatima-Zahra Mansouri (born 1975) is a Moroccan engineer and renewable energy advocate whose work has revolutionized solar power adoption in North Africa. As a co-founder of the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN), she spearheaded the Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex, the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world at its completion in 2016. This project provided electricity to over 1.1 million people and reduced CO2 emissions by 760,000 tons annually.

Mansouri’s early career focused on improving energy equity in rural Moroccan communities. In the 1990s, she developed low-cost solar systems for nomadic Berber tribes, enabling off-grid households to access clean energy for the first time. Her 2003 paper ‘Solar Empowerment in Desert Regions’ became a blueprint for arid-zone renewable infrastructure globally.

Her advocacy led to Morocco’s 2030 Energy Strategy, targeting 52% renewable energy generation nationwide. Mansouri currently advises the African Development Bank’s Desert to Power initiative, expanding solar grids across the Sahel region. Her TED Talk ‘Solar Energy for All’ has been translated into 12 languages, inspiring grassroots solar cooperatives in Tunisia and Algeria.