Morocco Fights Drought with Innovative Floating Solar Project on Tanger Med Dam

Covering part of the reservoir with floating photovoltaic panels to protect the surface from the sun’s rays, while generating green electricity. This is the main objective of the pilot project at the Tanger Med dam launched at the end of 2024 by the Ministry of Equipment and Water and a public agency. In this dam, evaporation goes from about 3,000 cubic meters per day under normal conditions to nearly 7,000 cubic meters per day in summer, explains Yassine Wahbi, a local official from the ministry. He is counting on a 30% reduction in the phenomenon thanks to the photovoltaic cover.

Thousands of school-sized panels can be seen on the basin, where more than 400 floating platforms are moored by cables plunging up to 44 meters deep. "Ultimately, more than 22,000 photovoltaic units should cover about ten hectares of the 123-hectare water body. The panels will produce about 13 megawatts, which will help meet the needs of the vast Tanger Med port complex," it is specified. It is also planned to plant trees on the banks of the reservoir to fight the drying effect of the wind.

This experience is "pioneering" in Morocco, says Mohammed-Saïd Karrouk, professor of climatology, while noting that the project has certain limitations. According to him, it is impossible to cover the entire dam due to its vast area "and because the reservoir follows the contours of the terrain with variations in the water level that could damage the panels." Karrouk believes it would be better to prioritize accelerating the transfer of surplus water from dams in northern Morocco - less affected by drought - to central and southern regions.

For now, Morocco has only one infrastructure to achieve this goal, a 67-kilometer "water highway" with canals and pumping stations between the Sebou basin (northwest) and the Rabat metropolitan area. It is planned to expand the system to connect other dams in the north to the center of the country. Even limited, the water savings obtained thanks to the floating panels constitute "a significant gain in a context of increasing scarcity of water resources," emphasizes the Ministry of Equipment. Two other similar projects will soon be launched: one in Lalla Takerkoust, near Marrakech (center), the other in Oued El Makhazine (north), one of the largest dams in the country.