A Technical Reading of the 13-09 Law on Renewable

Energy in Morocco

Rachid El Bachtiri *

REEPER group, LESSI Laboratory (FSDM Faculty) EST School, USMBA University

Fez, Morocco rachid.elbachtiri@usmba.ac.ma

Abstract-This article concerns the applicability of the 13-09 law

on renewable energy in Morocco for free production of electric

power from photovoltaic stands. The maximum power permitted

is 20 kW. First, we present the structure of the PV platform

allowing this production with the highest voltage possible.

Afterward, we consider the inverter for transforming the DC to

the AC voltage. We have adopted a three-phase topology. Indeed,

article 5 of the act states that the connection of the renewable

power sources to the public grid can be only on the medium, high

or extra high voltage. For reducing the harmonics effect, we have

chosen a multilevel inverter. As the authorized power is low, the

transformer characteristics are not standardized, which leads to

additional costs.

Keywords - renewable energy; legislation; photovoltaic; inverter

I. INTRODUCTION

Global warming, high oil prices, and the increasing demand for a more responsible use of fossil fuels encourage energy production from clean, sustainable, and renewable sources. So, there has been an increasing interest in electrical power generation from renewable-energy sources, such as photovoltaic (PV) [1-3].

Morocco imports most its needs from different sources, including fuel, oil, and gas, and this dependency has a great impact on the energy bill. Furthermore, due to the economic and social growth that our country is undergoing nowadays, the demand for energy is increasing. On the other hand, Morocco has an important production potential constituted in particular by a large source of renewable energy estimated at 6,000 MW from wind, and 5 kWhlm2/d from solar [4]. So the new national energy strategy is based on three main orientations: (1) availability of energy at the best cost for all the people in all the country, (2) the integration of Morocco in the Euro­Mediterranean area and the Maghreb, and (3) the development of renewable energy. Morocco has also organized the environment to attract companies and investors; a law was promulgated for renewable energy.

In this work, we will present this law, and discuss its applicability, especially concerning the free production of renewable energy. Indeed, it is pennitted to establish, to operate, and to modify freely, electricity generation from

Ernest Matagne

SST/IMMC/MCTR EPL school, UCL University Louvain-Ia-Neuve, Belgium

ernest.matagne@uclouvain.be

renewable energy sources when the maximum cumulative power, by site or group of sites belonging to the same operator, is less than 20 kilowatts.

Our scenario is using photovoltaic generation to build a system having 20 kW as peak power. Since the legislation requires the connection, exclusively, to the medium, high, or extra high voltage, we will propose a multilevel inverter to convert DC voltage to AC voltage with reduction of harmonics [5-6]. In this sense, multi-level converters are increasingly preferred for medium- and high-power applications due to their ability to meet the increasing demand of power ratings and power quality associated with reduced hannonic distortion, lower electromagnetic interference, and higher efficiencies when compared with the conventional two-level topologies [7]. The use of power electronic converters enables PV systems to provide more effective power production and to meet specific electrical grid code requirements [7]. Obviously, a transfonner is necessary, so we will present its characteristics [8]. The general scheme is given in Fig. 1.

, I I I I I I I I I I

Measured Reference Variables Values

Utility Distribution

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Filter Coupling \ , \ Transformer

,-------------------------- ______ 1 .... _-------'

Power Conditioning System

Figure I. Global scheme of the system

978-1-4673-6374-7/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE

II. STRATEGY AND ACTIONS FOR USING RENEWABLE

ENERGY IN MOROCCO

A. National Strategy

Throughout its Energy Strategy, Morocco aims at cutting down its dependency on fossil fuels and at reducing the huge charge it is making on the country's budget, In order to achieve this goal, renewable energy in all its forms is considered as a priority in the Moroccan energy strategy, which is based on a balanced mix of energy where clean fossil fuels are combined with renewable energies as well as energy efficiency. The main points of Morocco's energy policy are:

• The strengthening of energy supply security through the diversification of sources and resources, and the optimization of the energy balance and the mastery in the planning of capacities.

• The generalized access to energy through the availability of modem energy for the whole population and at competitive prices.

• Sustainable development through the promotion of renewable energies for the strengthening of the competitiveness of the productive sectors of the country, and environmental protection through the use of clean energy technologies, with a view to the limitation of the Greenhouse Gas emissions and the reduction of the strong pressure exercised on the forest cover.

• The strengthening of regional integration through the opening up to the Euro-Mediterranean energy markets and the harmonization of energy legislations and regulations.

B. Actions

To achieve its objectives, the Moroccan government has designed reforms and supporting activities to assist in the development of renewable energies and energy efficiency. In an attempt to develop all energy resources available in the country, and to reduce its dependence on expensive imported fossil fuels, the Moroccan Government has decided to launch an ambitious wind and solar power program. This renewable energy program aims to build 4,000 MW of additional generation capacity by 2020 (2,000 MW of wind and 2,000 MW of solar) thanks to public-private partnerships. As a result, renewable energy (wind, solar, and hydro) should account for 42% of the national supply by 2020 [9].

Morocco has also organized the environment to attract companies and investors. The Government has promulgated a law for renewable energy, and has created a dedicated agency to construct this solar plan, which is the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy, and has considered the solar and wind projects as integrated projects. The Government wants to construct industry around solar and wind equipment, to attract industries and investors. So, the Government promUlgated another law aiming to encourage Moroccan and foreign private companies to invest in renewable energy by facilitating the production and commercialization of the energy produced.

III. LAW NO. 13-09 ON RENEW ABLE ENERGY

A. Preamble

The Law No. 13-09 on renewable energy was promulgated by Dahir No. 1-10-16 of 26 Safar 1431 (February 11, 20lO) published in Official Newsletter No. 5822 of the first Rabii II 1431 (March 18, 2010). It states:

Development of renewable energy sources constitutes one of the priorities of national policy on energy, whose main aims are:

• strengthening the security of energy supply through diversification of sources and resources, optimization of energy balance and control of capacity planning;

• widespread access to energy, the availability of modem energy for all segments of the population and at competitive prices;

• sustainable development through the promotion of renewable energy, to strengthen the competitiveness of productive sectors of the country, preserving the environment through the use of clean energy technologies for limiting emissions of greenhouse gases and reduction of high pressure on forest cover;

• strengthening of regional integration through openness to Euro Mediterranean markets for energy and the harmonization of laws and regulations of energy.

To act in synergy with the national policy, this Act takes steps to develop and adapt the renewable energy sector with future technological developments and able to encourage private initiatives.

The new legislative framework for renewable energy sector, notably, set goals:

• promoting energy production from renewable sources, its marketing and export by the public or private entities;

• subjugation of facilities producing energy from renewable sources to the licensing or declaration;

• the right for an operator to generate electricity from renewable energy sources on behalf of a consumer or a group of consumers connected to the national grid medium voltage (MV), high voltage (HV) and extra high voltage (EHV), under an agreement whereby they undertake to remove and consume the electricity produced exclusively for their own use.

So, in order to achieve these objectives, the Act establishes a legal framework providing opportunities for construction and operation of electric power plants from renewable sources by natural or legal persons, public or private, specifying in particular the general principles they should follow, the legal regime including the marketing and export . . .

B. Articles

We will consider tow articles from chapter II (General principles ):

Article 5: The power plants from renewable energy sources can only be connected to the MV, HV or EHV national grid. However, the connection of renewable energy power plants to the MV national grid is subject to terms and conditions prescribed by regulation.

Article 6: are established, operated and modified freely, power generation facilities as follow:

Electrical plants from renewable energy sources when the maximum total capacity per site or group of sites belonging to the same operator, is less than 20 kilowatts;

Thermal plants from renewable energy sources when the maximum cumulative power, by site or group of sites belonging to the same operator, is less than 8 megawatts.

IV. SCENARIO USING PHOTOVOLTAIC PLANT

In this section, we will determine a power PV plant with 20 kW as rated since article 6 of the law authorizes a freely production of Pm ax = 20 kW.

A. Characteristics of P V Module

The photo voltaic module considered is Siemens SM-50. Manufacturer data are:

TABLE I. RATED DATA

Characteristics Values Nominal voltage 12V

Maximum power (1) 50W

Minimum power (2) 45W

Current at the maximum power point 3.05A

Voltage at the maximum power point 16.6V

Maximum current (short circuit output) 3.4A

Maximum voltage (open circuit) 21.4

Nominal working temperature 45°C

Current temperature coefficient +1.2mA/oC

Voltage temperature coefficient -0.077 Volts/oC

Range of temperature variation -40 to 85°C

Relative humidity 85%

Maximum system voltage 1000V (ISPRA) 600V (ULl703)

Maximum pressure on the surface 2400N/m2

Maximum distortion (3) 1.2 degrees

Tce balls resistance (25 mm diameter) 23 m/s

Cells in series 36

Dimensions 1293 x 329 x 34 mm

Weight 5.5 kg

(1) Determined under standard test conditions (STC): irradiance = 1000W/m2, cell temperature = 25°C, solar spectrum ASTM E892 (air mass = 1,5) (2) Determined under the nominal operational conditions (NOC): irradiance = 800W/m2, ambient temperature = 20°C, wind speed = 1m/s

(3) Lifting diagonal of one corner with the other three fixed

B. Arrangement of Modules - Simplified Solution

The total number of modules is: Nt = 20 000150 = 400. By adopting a maximum voltage of 600 V, the number of modules to connect in series is Ns = 600112 = 50. So the number of module chains to connect in parallel is Np = NlNs = 8.

Actually, PV plants should be designed to operate at their optimal operating point power for any temperature and solar radiation level, so a maximum power point tracker (MPPT) is used to maximize the PV output power [10]. Therefore, the DC voltage will be: UDC = NsxVmpp = 50x16.6 = 830 V. The corresponding current is IDc = NpxImpp = 8x3.05 = 24.4 A. Which gives the power PDC = UDcxIDc = 20.252 kW.

We remark that PDC> Pmax, but, we note that:

• The difference between the powers is low.

• The power PDC assumes standard test conditions.

• There are losses in the inverter and the transformer.

C. Consideration of open Circuit Voltage and Temperature Effects

When there isn't a load (no current delivered by the PV), the voltage output is, at 25°C, UDCoe = NsxVoe = 50x21.4 =

1070 V . Moreover, this voltage depends on temperature, and in extreme case when temperature is zero, it becomes: U DCoeO =

UDCoe + NsxL1TxkTv = 1070 + 50x25xO.077 = 1166.25 V what is over the admissible voltage of 1000V. If we adopt a maximum voltage of UDCmax = 850 V (see paragraph V bellow), we will have N's = UDCmax 1 (Veo + L1TxkTv) = 850 1 (21.4 +25xO.077) = 36.44 .Then, the number of parallel string becomes: N' p = NlN's = 400 1 36.44 = 10.97 . So we can opt for a solution with 15 strings consisting of 27 modules in series.

V. POWER CONVERTER

Power electronics technology plays an important role in distributed generation, notably for integration of renewable energy sources into the electrical grid. It optimizes the energy conversion and transmission, and minimizes harmonic distortion. Photovoltaic generators are almost always associated with some control and power electronics [11].

PV arrays are known to be nonlinear, and there exists one operating point where the PV array generates maximum power. In order to achieve maximum utilization efficiency of the PV array, the MPPT control technique, which extracts the maximum possible power from the PV array, is essential [12].

Multilevel inverter technology has emerged recently as a very important alternative in the area of high-power medium­voltage energy control [13].

So we have chosen a 20kW Grid-tied PV Inverter from Chint Power Systems. CPS SC20KTL-O grid-tied PV inverter can be flexibly utilized in different types of commercial rooftops and utility applications. Its technical data are presented in the following table (Table II):

TABLE II. RATED DATA OF THE CONVERTER

Characteristics Values DC Input

Max. DC Voltage 850Vdc

MPPT Voltage Range (Full Power) 430-800Vdc

Working Voltage Range 500-800Vdc

Max. DC Power 22kWp

Max. Input Current / Per String 42A / 14A

Max. Number of Strings 5

MPP Tracker 1

AC Output Output Power 20kW

Nominal Output Voltage 400Vac,3 phase

Grid Voltage 320-418Vac

Nominal Grid Frequency 50/60Hz

Current THD <2%

Power Factor -I

System Max. Efficiency 98.1%

Euro Efficiency 97.5%

CEC Efficiency 97.8%

Protection Degree IP65

Stand-by Consumption <20W

Operating Temperature Range -20°C - +65°C

Cooling Forced cooling / RPM regulated fan

Humidity 0-95%, non-condensing

Altitude 4000m

DC Switch Embedded NO

Display and Communication Display LCD

Communication RS485

Mechanical Data W H D (mm) 545 750 220

Weight (kg) 50

Its 3-level technology and parallel switched MOSFET with IGBT and bypass strategy adopted minimize power loss to achieve overall load high efficiency. Its IP65 protection degree allows broad outdoor applications to save indoor installation space and cables.

The output voltage of PV inverter is never in MV range. Indeed, the maximum DC voltage provided by string PV modules can't go over 1 kV (North America standard states 600V).

VI. TRANSFORMER

According III-V and B, it is necessary to consider the use of a LV IMV transformer. Due to undetermined behavior of distribution transformers in case of fluctuating power flow the rated power of the transformer was set to limit the PV -in feed [14]. Three phase MY voltage are widely standardized.

Figure 2. Example of a transformer pole

Beltransfo Company in Morocco offers some top of pole transformers (Figure 2) with the adequate voltage (400V 122kV), but there apparent power is, at least, 50 kV A ! This company can produce our specific transformer (20 kVA) but it will cost more.

We can note that if the installation is on the roof of a factory supplied with the MV grid, the transformer is not needed.

VII. CONCLUSION

The purpose of this paper is to present a conception of a photovoltaic plant for producing freely electrical power to inject in the public grid. It's clear that the act allowing this issue is very limited. Firstly, it is forbidden to use the low voltage grid for coupling the PV plant which robs people to produce PV electricity on their roofs. Secondly, even though we have determined a technical solution for the realization of a photovoltaic system connected to the medium voltage grid; it seems that it will cost a lot, mainly if the MY grid is far from the installation.

Now, an economic study is needed to know the profitability of the investment in 20 kW photovoltaic productions in Morocco. This study must take into account, among other criteria, the cost of the installation and its maintenance, in addition to the kWh resale price. However, since the impact of renewable energy is obviously positive on the environment, the economy, and the social (employment issue) sector, we hope that the Moroccan Government will provide more encouragement in this domain.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This work was achieved in the Institute of Mechanics, Materials and Civil Engineering at the Louvain School of Engineering (EPL) of the Universite catholique de Louvain (UCL). We would like to thank the International Relationship Administration (ADRI) from UCL for supporting this research.

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