Protesters demonstrating against the construction of a thermal power plant in Safi.

Hundreds of people staged a protest in Safi, on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, against the construction of a thermal power station. Residents say the plant is one too many in a city already suffering from air pollution.

Construction hasn’t begun yet, but three foreign companies, including French electricity firm GDF Suez, have won the tender to build the plant. The project aims to respond to Morocco’s increasing demand for electricity. The plant will be operational from 2017 and use “clean coal” technology. Unlike regular coal, plants that use clean coal could, in theory, use the same quantity of coal and produce 50% more electricity, thus reducing the amount of CO2 released per unit of energy produced. This, however, this has not convinced the environmentalists in Safi.