The current study aims to investigate and optimize the photovoltaic systems currently in operation at the University of Ibn Tofail in Kenitra, Morocco. The University has started already since 2017 to integrate photovoltaic systems in the form of carports with the objective to reduce the invoices for electricity supplied from the utility grid by at least around 40%. Until then, the University avoided selling the energy surplus to the local electricity provider due to complicated bureaucratic regulations. However, due to the new law on renewable energy adopted by the Moroccan government in November 2021, it will be possible for private households and public service buildings to sell the entire excess of energy produced by renewable energy systems instead of only 20% of the surplus according to the previous law 13-09. For this purpose, this research project seeks to verify whether an expansion of the available photovoltaic installations and the sale of the energy surplus is worthwhile or not. This research work has been done with the optimization software HOMER Pro and presents the obtained optimized results and proposals of two new scenarios in comparison to already existing photovoltaic arrays.

Energy is at the center of most of the major challenges of our society, but equally at the center of the promising perspectives that the world is facing. In fact, the combination of wind, water and solar energy can replace depleting fossil fuels which produce greenhouse gases on the one hand, and on the other hand cover the entire energy needs of the planet. Solar energy is both clean and non-polluting, moreover it is one of the most popular solutions for households as an alternative to fossil fuels. Therefore, the use of photovoltaic systems reduces the energy supplied by the public grid and inevitably decreases the amount of the energy invoice in the long term. Due to the increase in the number of bachelor students in recent years, the Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra, Morocco, has been required to build new buildings and laboratories to ensure a good study environment for its students. This has led to an enormous increase in the electricity bill. In this context, our project aims to decrease the energy bill of the two institutions: National School of Applied Sciences (ENSA) as well as National School of Commerce and Management (ENCG), by studying the technical and economic aspects of photovoltaic installations for self-consumption purposes, as well as the installation of solar streetlamps to improve the performance of nocturnal lighting. In addition, an initiation to the intelligent smart building concept that allows the centralized technical management of the installed equipment, and more precisely the DALI lighting protocol, was extended. Indeed, this system will allow us to control the consumption of the loads remotely and in real time for a better comfort and without neglecting the reduction of the energy bill.

In this paper, a comprehensive decision support tool based advanced monitoring system is developed to support transition to smart greenhouses for sustainable and clean food production. The decision framework aims to optimally control and manage the microclimate environments of smart connected greenhouses, where each greenhouse is defined as a self-water producing through an enhanced water desalination process. The main advantage of the current approach lies in the ability of the greenhouses to produce their water loads locally. This paper aims to develop an efficient decision tool able of performing specific monitoring and control functionalities to optimize the operation of the greenhouses where the aim is the energy and water savings. A decision model is implemented for the precise regulation and control of the indoor microclimate defining the optimal growth conditions for the crops. Furthermore, a predictive algorithm is developed to simulate in real time the operation of the greenhouses under various conditions, to assess the response of the system to storage dynamics and renewable sources, as well to control the complex indoor microclimate, energy and water flows, as well to optimize the crops growth. The developed tool is tested through a case study where the influences of climate data on the operation of the whole network are analyzed via numerical results. INDEX TERMS Smart network of greenhouses; microclimate monitoring; decision support tool, energy management system; sustainable food production This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication.

The increase in energy demand, increasingly expensive and part of a sustainable development approach, has highlighted the importance of energy efficiency. Indeed, opting for energy efficiency allows to fight against the dissipation of energy and its costs by means of an optimization in the use of energy sources. It is in this sense, that several countries including Morocco, and in order to reduce its energy bill, has opted for a national strategy of energy efficiency which aims to achieve an energy saving of about 20% by 2030 through a better use of energy in all areas of economic and social activity. The integration of energy efficiency and renewable energy techniques in the construction sector is one of the levers that will enable the country to meet its energy challenges and achieve its objectives in the fight against climate change. In this context, Ibn Tofail University has started to exploit the interesting potential of this energy efficiency campus wide. Our addresses the problem of increasing electricity bills at the National School of Applied Sciences of Kenitra (ENSAK) while seeking to develop long-term solutions for the resolution of this problem as well as opening up promising prospects that will better meet its needs. In order to minimize energy consumption at the National School of Applied Sciences, we studied the different types photovoltaic installations and elaborated a study of technical feasibility, financial profitability and environmental impact of potential self-consumption photovoltaic installations.

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