ORIGINAL PAPER
Land suitability analysis for solar farms exploitation using the GIS and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) – a case study of Morocco
1
Geology Department, Laboratory of Applied Geology, Geomatics and Environment, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’Sik, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco
Submission date: 2021-02-11
Final revision date: 2021-02-18
Acceptance date: 2021-02-19
Publication date: 2021-06-21
Corresponding author
Meryem Taoufik
Geology Department, Laboratory of Applied Geology, Geomatics and Environment, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’Sik, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Av Driss El Harti Sidi Othmane, 20670, Casablanca, Morocco
Geology Department, Laboratory of Applied Geology, Geomatics and Environment, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’Sik, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Av Driss El Harti Sidi Othmane, 20670, Casablanca, Morocco
Polityka Energetyczna – Energy Policy Journal 2021;24(2):79-96
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Provided Morocco’s geographical position and climatic conditions, solar energy will supply a large portion of the country's energy demand. In this paper, the suitability of Moroccan lands for hosting Solar Power Plants was studied using the combination of the Geographic Information System (GIS) and the Analytical Hierarchy Method (AHP). The multi-criteria decision framework integrates technical, socio-economic and environmental constraints. For this purpose, a GIS database was created using layers from various sources. In addition, since the potential of Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) is the most relevant criterion for the selection of solar farms, a high-quality solar satellite map with a spatial resolution of 0.27 km was used, covering a period from 1994 to 2018. Obtained results show a great potential for solar energy development in Morocco, represented by the availability of 90% of areas. In fact, the resulting map was classified into 6 different classes, namely: Very high suitability, High suitability, Moderate suitability, Low suitability, Very low suitability and Exclusion areas, which 53.88%, 24.08%, 0.15%, 0%, 0% and 21.89% are respectively the percentages of their area occupation. According to the performed investigations, the most significant criteria that should be considered include: The Global Horizontal Irradiation, Slope, Temperature and Slope orientation. The obtained map was then compared to the existing solar farms, and show that all the existing projects are located within areas classified as highly suitable.
METADATA IN OTHER LANGUAGES:
Polish
Analiza przydatności gruntów do eksploatacji farm słonecznych z wykorzystaniem Systemu Informacji Geograficznej (GIS) i Analitycznego Procesu Hierarchicznego (AHP) – studium przypadku Maroka
Systemy Informacji Geograficznej, analiza wielokryterialna, energia słoneczna, wybór lokalizacji, Afryka
Biorąc pod uwagę położenie geograficzne i warunki klimatyczne Maroka, energia słoneczna pokryje dużą część zapotrzebowania na energię w tym kraju. W artykule zbadano przydatność terenów marokańskich do lokalizacji elektrowni słonecznych za pomocą połączenia Systemu Informacji Geograficznej (GIS) i metody Analitycznego Procesu Hierarchicznego (AHP). Wielokryterialne ramy decyzyjne uwzględniają ograniczenia techniczne, społeczno-ekonomiczne i środowiskowe. W tym celu utworzono bazę danych GIS przy użyciu danych z różnych źródeł. Ponadto, ponieważ potencjał globalnego nasłonecznienia poziomego (GHI) jest najważniejszym kryterium wyboru farm słonecznych, zastosowano wysokiej jakości słoneczną mapę satelitarną o rozdzielczości przestrzennej 0,27 km, obejmującą okres od 1994 do 2018 roku. Uzyskane wyniki wskazują na duży potencjał rozwoju energii słonecznej w Maroku na 90% obszaru kraju. W rzeczywistości otrzymana mapa została podzielona na 6 różnych klas, a mianowicie: bardzo wysoka przydatność, wysoka przydatność, umiarkowana przydatność, niska przydatność, bardzo niska przydatność i obszary wykluczenia, które stanowią odpowiednio: 53,88; 24,08; 0,15; 0; 0; i 21,89 procent zajmowanej powierzchni. Zgodnie z przeprowadzonymi badaniami, do najważniejszych kryteriów, które należy wziąć pod uwagę, należą: globalne nasłonecznienie poziome, nachylenie, temperatura i orientacja nachylenia. Uzyskana mapa została następnie porównana z istniejącymi farmami fotowoltaicznymi i wykazała, że wszystkie istniejące projekty znajdują się na obszarach o wysokiej przydatności.
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