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Smart grid implementation in Morocco: Case study

Article in Materials Today Proceedings · March 2021

DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2021.03.176

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 Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

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Smart grid implementation in Morocco: Case study

Meryem Meliani a,⇑, Abdellah El Barkany a, Ikram El Abbassi b, Abdel Moumen Darcherif b,
Morad Mahmoudi a,b
a
Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Techniques Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, B.P. 2202 - Route d’Imouzzer - Fez, Morocco
b
ECAM-EPMI, 13 Boulevard de l’Hautil, Cergy Pontoise Cedex 95092, France

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Like all industrial sectors in Morocco, the electricity network is facing challenges due to energy demand
Available online xxxx growth, and environmental protection requirements. Therefore, in 2009, a new Moroccan energy strategy
has been adopted to respond to the sustainable development revolution. Its main objectives are to pro-
Keywords: vide sufficient and reliable energy to the country with minimum costs and impacts on the environment.
Smart grid Smart Grid (SG) is one of the aspects that can ensure the success of such strategy. Its implementation
Energy management helps ensuring more efficient energy and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by adapting produc-
Renewable energies
tion to demand while reducing consumption, integrating renewable energies (RE), and using advanced
Smart energy systems
Moroccan grid
communication and control technologies. Through this article, we will study the existing state of the
Moroccan network, along with its potential of RE, as well as the obstacles and barriers to smart grid
development in Morocco. Finally, we will propose solutions and strategies for deploying smart grids in
the Kingdom. In which it is necessary to introduce intelligent measurement and analysis systems, to rein-
force the regional and international interconnections and promote energy storage. In the alternative,
Morocco needs to complete the regulatory framework for open and transparent access to the low-
voltage system, particularly by harmonizing authorizations and tariff structures.
Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Fourth edition of the
International Conference on Materials & Environmental Science.

1. Introduction and geothermal resources, has seen several projects take off. Those
projects were launched for the last few years at the national level
Morocco leads the North African region in energy import, with a focus on RE sources confirm that there is a transition in the
despite being the only country in the region without natural oil energy sector. They help reducing the dependence of the sector on
resources. The country is challenged to meet growing local demand fossil fuels, which are subjected to wide fluctuations [2]. The main
while controlling its import bills. Indeed, this has proved a serious objectives of this strategy are to ensure security of supply and
problem, as the increase in consumption figures and world raw access to optimized energy prices, mobilize domestic energy
material prices, placing financial pressure on the country. There- resources, including the country’s significant RE potential, promote
fore, energy independence, reform and further liberalization of energy efficiency, and integrate Morocco into the regional energy
the sector and its pricing mechanisms may be the ideal solution system while protecting the environment, and prioritizing the
[1]. development of RE.
Since 2009, Morocco has been committed in a sustainable The paper takes the following structure. Section 2 describes the
development and RE strategy. With no petroleum reserves, Mor- present state of the Moroccan network. Section 3 overviews the
occo is well suited to achieve these goals, particularly the develop- potential of RE sources in Morocco. Then, Section 3 outlines the
ment of carbon-free energies, especially solar, wind and barriers facing the development and implementation of smart
hydroelectricity. Due to its unique geographical and geological grids in Morocco, some solutions are also proposed to facilitate
position, northeastern Morocco, blessed with natural sunshine the SG implementation. Finally, Section 4 presents the conclusion.

⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: meryem.meliani@usmba.ac.ma (M. Meliani).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.03.176
2214-7853/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Fourth edition of the International Conference on Materials & Environmental Science.

Please cite this article as: M. Meliani, A. El Barkany, I. El Abbassi et al., Smart grid implementation in Morocco: Case study, Materials Today: Proceedings,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.03.176
M. Meliani, A. El Barkany, I. El Abbassi et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

2. Moroccan power system and planned evolution Table 1

Total installed capacity in 2018 and in 2020 [8].

The electricity network in Morocco has a well-connected trans- Type of power plant 2018 capacity (MW) 2020 capacity (MW)
mission system with 3000 km of 400 kV lines, 9680 km of 225 kV Solar 710.8 2000
lines, almost 147 km of 150 kV lines, and around 12 000 km of Wind 1220 2000
60 kV lines [3]. This network was built fifty years ago and is a mix- Hydro 1770 2000
ture of old and new technologies. Most network components are
obsolete and continue to age due to stresses such as extreme tem-
peratures, vibrations, water infiltration and damage caused by civil ticularly in Africa, with several programs to generate electricity
engineering construction. Such problems make the distribution from renewable sources [8].
system vulnerable and dangerous to Morocco’s industry and the
environment. 3.1. Solar power
Electricity demand in Morocco has grown by an average of
about 5% per year in the last five years and it is estimated to Morocco has taken advantage of its geographical position and
increase by 7 to 8.5% per year over the next ten years [4]. In its environment to take the lead in the field of RE, especially solar
2011, electricity consumption was 28.8 TW h, 8.4% higher than energy. The average incident solar radiation varies between 4.7
the year before [5]. Therefore, the demand for electricity has more and 5.6 kWh/m2/day with a total number of sunshine hours rang-
than doubled from 16 TWh in 2002 to 34 TWh in 2014. Due to this, ing from 2700 h/year in the North of Morocco to more than 3500 h/
energy production in Morocco increased by 6 to 7% per year year in the South.
between 2002 and 2012 to meet this rising demand. In 2015, the In 2009, the Moroccan Solar Plan was launched as a very ambi-
total installed capacity of the country is 8154 MW, with 34% of tious project. A number of solar power plants have been planned
RE with the following mix: Carbon (32%), natural gas (11%), hydro- and scheduled for installation as part of it. MASEN was created
power (22%), fuel oil and diesel (24%), solar (2%) and wind (10%) specifically to implement these projects. Its mission is to imple-
(See Fig. 1) [3–6]. According to Morocco’s Ministry of Energy, ment all projects related to the national energy strategy and to
Mines, Water and Environment (MEMEE), it is estimated that the coordinate and supervise all other activities related to this initia-
future demand for primary energy could attain 26 Mtoe (million tive. However, the project would save 1 million ton of oil equiva-
tons of oil equivalent) in 2020 and 43 Mtoe in 2030 [6]. lent and 3.7 million tons of CO2 emissions annually. Within the
framework of the Mediterranean Solar Plan, the Ouarzazate plant
has received European co-financing. The Ouarzazate global project
3. Renewable energy potential in Morocco
includes four power plants: Noor 1, Noor 2, Noor 3 and Noor 4 with
different technologies. Noor 2 has a capacity of 200 MW based on
Morocco has the potential to lead the MENA (Middle East and
parabolic mirror technology, and 7 h of storage. Noor 3 has a capac-
North Africa) region in the RE sector. Limited conventional hydro-
ity of 100 MW equipped with a solar tower, and more than 7 h of
carbon resources, high energy imports from other countries to
storage. Noor 4, based on PV technology, has a capacity of 72 MW,
cover its energy demand. The Moroccan government’s historical
while Noor 1, has a capacity of 160 MW and is currently among the
reliance on imported fossil fuels and rapidly increasing demand
largest concentrated solar thermal parabolic cylinder power plants
for electricity have boosted the development of RE in Morocco
(CSP) in the world [8–9].
and have proven to be stable.
Morocco has the most ambitious RE targets in the MENA region,
committing to increase RE production to 42% of its electricity gen- 3.2. Wind power
eration by 2020 and 52% by 2030. Steps are being taken to match
the supply and demand for primary energy, which is growing by Morocco’s favorable geographical location gives it a significant
5% per year, driven by electricity demand, which is increasing at wind energy potential, estimated at about 6,000 MW [10]. Most
a fairly steady annual rate of more than 6%, through the develop- of the windiest regions of Morocco are located in the extreme
ment of new power generation capacity, which is expected to north, on the Strait of Gibraltar side, in the Tangier-Tetouan region,
increase the installed capacity to 25,000 MW in 2030 [7]. the Essaouira region, the South Atlantic area from Tarfaya to
Today, Morocco’s renewable electricity system is highly diversi- Lagouira, and the Taza corridor between the Atlas and Rif moun-
fied and includes a mix of solar, wind, and hydroelectric power tain ranges. The wind field is characterized by average wind speeds
plants. Table 1 shows the total installed and planned capacity in above 8 m/s for the windiest regions [11].
2018 and 2020, respectively. The Kingdom of Morocco is currently As part of its energy strategy, Morocco implemented an ambi-
considered one of the leaders in the global energy transition, par- tious wind energy program to promote the deployment of RE. This

Fig. 1. Plan of electricity sources from 2015 to 2030.

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M. Meliani, A. El Barkany, I. El Abbassi et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

program plans to extend its wind energy installed capacity to 4. Challenges of SG implementation in Morocco
2,000 MW by the end of 2020 and to increase this capacity to
2,600 MW by 2030. SG is an electricity network that uses computer technology to
The most important project of the wind energy program is the adjust the flow of electricity between suppliers and consumers.
giant Tarfaya wind farm, which is operational. The biggest project By collecting information on the state of the network, SGs help
of wind energy on the African continent. In 2015, the total capacity to match production, distribution and consumption. Fig. 2 present
300 MW of the park was injected. Besides the production of elec- the concept of a SG. For distribution, Morocco has adopted SCADA
tricity, the wind program also includes the industrial integration as a management tool at the regional level. One can consider this as
of the wind energy sector, along with the promotion of R&D and an initial step toward a Moroccan SG.
technical training in this field. This program also comprises the The implementation of SGs has several objectives. First of all, it
manufacturing of equipment for wind farms in the national indus- aims to reduce the impact of the electrical system on the environ-
trial fabric in order to enhance and support its impact on the ment. Second, it seeks to raise awareness among users and make
national economy in general and the development of wind energy them more active in relation to their electricity consumption,
in particular [12]. while enabling them to control it effectively. This intelligent sys-
tem also aims to develop decentralized electricity production.

4.1. Challenges and strategies to set up a SG in Morocco

3.3. Hydropower energy
The Moroccan government are developing new regulations to
According to Morocco’s new energy strategy, 14% of the coun- address the country’s energy transition. New projects are planned,
try’s energy production will be generated from hydropower by and generation capacity will keep increasing to meet growing
the end of 2020. Since Morocco has four perennial rivers and demand, but RE are just part of a SG. The SG requires extensive
numerous dams with hydroelectric potential, estimated at more control and monitoring, information and communication technolo-
than 5000 GW h/year [13]. Hydroelectric capacity installed will gies, advanced metering infrastructure, distributed generation,
increase from 1,730 MW in 2008 to 2,000 MW in 2020, through customer-side systems, and EV charging infrastructure.
implementation of new hydroelectric dams and a pumped energy The first challenge concerns transmission and distribution
transfer station (PETS). levels; indeed, the loss rate has reached 14.7% in 2014, so it is
Currently, Morocco has a hydroelectric production capacity of important to minimize these losses in order to secure the network.
1,770 MW, of which 464 MW is in PETS mode. This capacity can This percentage has been increasing since 2004, when it was only
really be achieved only when water reservoirs reach their maxi- around 5%. Therefore, to reduce the losses, an extensive monitoring
mum capacity. To the contrary, Morocco is a semi-arid country. network must be put in place. Regarding the transmission infras-
The other element that must be considered in hydraulics in Mor- tructure, more lines are deployed at the level, while the metering
occo is irrigation. Thus, the turbine to generate electricity depends infrastructure is still relying on conventional (electromagnetic)
to some extent on irrigation needs. However, all over the world, meters. Obviously, an AMI should be implemented. For example,
hydropower production is always below the level dictated by according to Law 58–15, the integration of low-voltage REs neces-
existing installed capacity. For example, in 2011, hydroelectricity sitates a metering infrastructure that allows utilities to charge cus-
production is strongly decreasing, with only 2.2 TWh as compared tomers accordingly and set up a specific tariff system [14]. A
to 3.7 TWh in 2010, when there was abundant rainfall. The PETS second main challenge for electricity distribution in Morocco is
that are built or under development are expected to act as a stor- related to environmental and climatic conditions caused by long
age mechanism for solar and wind energy [12]. In the meantime, land distances, huge forests, winter seasons and the high number
Morocco plans to construct around 60 large dams during the next of overhead lines [15]. These challenges require advanced auto-
twenty years; however, the majority of them are expected to be matic solutions for rapid fault management and long-term net-
used for water resource management, rather than power work forecasting. As a result, the ONEE set up a new, modern
generation. and more efficient national distribution control center called ‘‘Dis-

Fig. 2. Concept of a SG..

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M. Meliani, A. El Barkany, I. El Abbassi et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

patching” in 2008. This new system, which is located in the city of Need for an advanced two-way communication system: Two-
Casablanca, controls in real time and under different conditions, way communication links may be damaged by natural disasters,
between changes in power generation facilities and a constant man-made accidents and international attempts.
increase in national demand. Another major problem is that the Cybersecurity and data confidentiality: SG communication
majority of the electrical energy produced in the grid cannot be technologies and user data are vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
stored. Therefore, the SG is essential for correlating electricity pro-
duction with demand [16]. The evolution of SG is an important 6. Conclusion and perspectives
condition for moving from a unidirectional to a bidirectional sys-
tem, which allows to act on demand and to adapt consumption Since the 2009 national energy strategy, Morocco has made the
partly to the existing production capacities. SGs are designed to transition to RE an important priority. After 2020, the Moroccan
improve the control of the electrical system throughout the value government established an ambitious long-term objective for RE
chain, from producer to final user. By making part of consumption by meeting 52% of the total installed capacity by 2030, benefiting
(industrial and household) depending on the available production, from the country’s high potential for solar and wind energy, along
they reduce demand peaks and thus the maximum production with the hydropower contributions, therefore demonstrating a
capacity in a given geographical area. Likewise, it is also possible long term engagement. In order to reach the ambitious 2030 target,
to schedule certain equipment (e.g. electric vehicles) to receive Morocco needs to adopt several strategies and measures. These
energy when there is a given overproduction [17]. include modernizing the power grid by introducing intelligent
By introducing energy management systems (EMS) and metering and analysis systems, reinforcing regional and interna-
dynamic pricing, significant improvements in energy efficiency tional interconnections, and promoting energy storage. Otherwise,
could be achieved and the use of locally produced RE could be opti- the kingdom should complete the regulatory framework for open
mized. The country should implement social awareness initiatives and transparent access to the low-voltage system, particularly by
to support the use of distributed generation. The importance of SG harmonizing authorizations and tariff structures. It is also impor-
should also be outlined and the various demand response (DR) pro- tant to encourage local research in order to adapt international
grams need to be explained to the public in order to illustrate the experience to local requirements in terms of recharging systems
benefits that customers can get from the installation of an AMI. and use; to stimulate local production of electric vehicle
Another challenge in implementing SG is security. The country components.
have to provide the most secure network possible for its customers Meanwhile, it is important to encourage research and innova-
so that they can trust public services and share their private data. tion in all RE applications, strengthen the coordination of energy
R&D programs between government, universities and agencies,
and enhance the Kingdom’s energy innovation ecosystem through
the development of collaborations between industries and
5. Discussion universities.

Considering these challenges and strategies, it can be concluded

that SG implementation in Morocco cannot be achieved within a CRediT authorship contribution statement
few years. There are major energy challenges for the country,
where Morocco should meet its growth in electricity demand, Meryem Meliani: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing -
reduce its CO2 footprint, and decrease its reliance on fossil fuels. original draft. Abdellah El Barkany: Project administration, Formal
Therefore, it is necessary to proceed step by step, taking in consid- analysis, Writing - review & editing, Validation. Ikram El Abbassi:
eration the SG’s characteristics and framework, within a proper Project administration, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing,
planning. Validation. Abdel Moumen Darcherif: Project administration, For-
The integration of SG represent an important element to reduce mal analysis, Writing - review & editing, Validation. Morad Mah-
electricity distribution losses, which represent 12% of the global moudi: Supervision, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing,
production in 2011. Furthermore, it would enable the kingdom to Validation.
enhance the efficiency of its power supply, strengthen predictive
maintenance and control an emerging electrical uses such as elec- Declaration of Competing Interest
trical vehicle recharging.
However, as below we summarized the most discussed and The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cited challenges in the literature [18]: cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
 Market Uncertainty: Due to uncertain revenues and an insuf- to influence the work reported in this paper.
ficient market base, private investment is discouraged.
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