Twelve dams in the Sebou basin are being considered for floating solar plants under a study planned by the basin’s water agency.
The idea is to cover parts of the reservoirs with photovoltaic panels, producing electricity while losing less water to evaporation.
The study covers Al Mena, El Kansera, Ouljet Es Soltane, Al Wahda, Sidi Chahed, Allal El Fassi, M’Daz, Bab Ouata, Idriss I, Bouhouda, Sahla and Asfalou dams.
They are located across Kenitra, Khémisset, Ouezzane, Moulay Yacoub, Sefrou, Taza and Taounate.
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No site has yet been selected for a project. The Sebou Water Basin Agency first wants to know how much of the reservoirs could be used and whether floating panels would work under the hydraulic conditions at each dam.
It will also look at how much electricity could be produced, connections to the grid and the environmental and regulatory requirements involved.
Studies cited by the agency say covering reservoirs with floating panels can cut evaporation by between 30pc and 70pc. The panels also take up no agricultural land and can benefit from the cooling effect of the water beneath them.
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Once the 12 dams have been compared, the more promising sites will be studied in greater detail and preliminary designs prepared.
The agency will then have to decide how any projects are to be paid for and run. Public-private partnerships, concessions and independent power producers are among the models to be examined.
The study is expected to set out which projects could be taken forward first and how much investment they would require.
