The Impact of Desert Regions on Solar Energy Production with the Evaluation of Groundwater for Maintenance: A Case Study in Morocco

Abstract

The aim of this research work is to investigate the influence of temperature and wind-blown dust on solar energy production in a desert region of Morocco. Moreover, it aims to assess the quality of water, in particular the groundwater used for the maintenance of photovoltaic panels (quality analysis). This region is characterized by very high temperatures and wind-blown dust in the summer, which has a major impact on the production of the photovoltaic panels. Before installing this maintenance system (cooling and cleaning using water), we decided to assess the quality of this water, whose temperature generally varies between 10 and 16 °C at a depth of 4 m, whatever the season. This is an important, stable, and sustainable source of water that can be entirely used to protect the photovoltaic modules from wind-blown dust and temperature in order to improve their efficiency. However, this water can also have a major impact on the quality of the energy. It can be contaminated with limestone and salts, which can cause the photovoltaic panels to block. All the research and studies carried out in the context of maintenance using water do not take into account the nature of this water (whether it is good or bad). After simulating our model on the Matlab-Simulink environment, we can see that the temperature has a significant influence on solar energy production (a reduction of power by 20% at 45 °C) in this region. Moreover, after the assessment of the water quality in our school laboratory, we found that the water, and especially the groundwater in this desert region of Morocco, are suitable for the maintenance of photovoltaic panels.