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Electrification of isolated areas by interconnecting renewable sources : a sustainable approach B. Michelon*, A. Nejmi**, J. Dos Ghali*, A. Dahman Saïdi*** and J.-C. Bolay* *École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) **Faculty of Science and Technology, Beni-Mellal University (Morocco) ***Hassan II Institute of Agronomics and Veterinary Science (Morocco)
projects due to high costs and technical difficulties. Yet, for broad segments of these populations, electricity is a high-priority need that would help improve their living conditions and bring their standard of living closer to that of urban areas.
Abstract-- The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the Hassan II Institute of Agronomics and Veterinary Science (IAV), and Targa-Aid association undertook a joint project to develop a technique for producing electrical energy from renewable primary energy sources to supply small networks of isolated consumers. Specific attention was paid to sustainable development issues, namely, the integration of social, environmental, and technical components. The project was carried out in the Ouneine Valley (Morocco). The project aimed to implement a technical transfer program and to improve the population’s ability to absorb innovations such as rural electrification by isolated micro-grid. In seven selected villages the infrastructures for the network connections were successfully implemented through a participatory process. The project also comprised a research component aimed at gaining an understanding of the interfaces between the technical and sociological levels. It was felt that such an understanding was critical to the implementation of local development projects.
On the strength of this observation, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), together with the Hassan II Institute of Agronomics and Veterinary Science, and the Targa-Aid non-governmental organization, decided to jointly develop and implement a technique for producing electrical energy from several renewable primary energy sources (water, solar, wind power, biogaz) so as to supply small, isolated consumer networks, with the possibility of interconnecting them. This technique was to be tried in the Ouneine Valley (in the Upper Atlas area of Morocco). II.
Index terms - Rural electrification – Renewable energy – Technology transfer – Social implementation – Sustainable development
The stakes involved in implementing a micro-grid are socioeconomic, environmental and technical.
I. INTRODUCTION
A. A needed increase in income Among the various parts of Morocco, the mountainous regions have great potential for tourism and economic development, which unfortunately is only too rarely used to advantage. This fact was mentioned in the National and Regional Development Plan (SNAT), which extolled the virtues of the mountain regions while at the same time making a very unfavorable diagnosis of the situation: “Morocco exists thanks to its mountains. They are the founts of life, the ‘water towers’ that nourish the plains below (…) Today, the mountains are suffering all the ill effects of neglect: overpopulation, isolation, lack of equipment, economic weakness, and social misery.” [1]
Many developing countries, particularly Less Developed Countries (LDC), are notoriously energypoor, especially in terms of electricity. There is considerable disparity in electrical consumption between countries with a low versus high Human Development Index, as demonstrated by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) statistics. Available figures suggest that this gap between poor and affluent countries is not about to be filled. The International Energy Agency estimates that 1.6 billion persons currently still have no access to electricity. In 1980, the amount of electrical energy used by a resident of Switzerland in four days was the same as the amount used by a resident of a moderately advanced country in a year. Currently, the figure is three days. So the terms of trade have deteriorated, with the industrialized countries consuming increasingly more, comparatively speaking, than less developed countries.
The Ouneine Valley is located in the mountainous Upper Atlas region, which is one of the poorest in Morocco. It is affected by problems related to isolation, by an advanced use of natural resources and by the absence of an integrated local development dynamic.
The situation is even more disastrous in isolated rural areas, which are often neglected by electrification
Cultivation of crop trees (almond, carob, olive, and walnut) and stockbreeding (cattle, sheep, and goats) make up most of the valley’s economy, i.e., 72% of its GDP. So the productive resources are fairly diversified, which is
This work was supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
1-4244-0632-3/07/$20.00 ©2007 IEEE.
THE STAKES OF DECENTRALIZED RURAL ELECTRIFICATION
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typical of the economy of mountain agricultural operations. These operations are modest, but alternating harvests with the sale of animal products as well as supplementary inputs from seasonal or permanent migration allows families to survive. Still, 11.5% of households have no land and are forced to work for others, which is one of the main indicators of poverty in the valley.
production networks and tend to implement their own strategies, which compromise their immediate environment. “In Morocco, rural populations (45% of the total population) still have very limited access to electricity and gas. Wood is the main energy source used for cooking and heating, representing 90% of a rural household’s energy consumption. Cooking and heating stoves consume large amounts of combustible fuels and emit significant quantities of CO2 and noxious smoke. The CO2 emissions have severe consequences for the climate, and overuse of wood harms the environment by contributing to desertification.” [5]
Services and commerce make up 7% of the valley’s GDP. This figure, though modest, is significant for an isolated mountain zone, considering the people’s limited purchasing power. The souk (marketplace), which is the hub of the Ouneine Valley’s economic activities, is of prime importance: it is the indispensable weekly gathering place for heads of household, since that is where all information circulates and the point through which most economic transactions pass. Because it represents a micro-center of embryonic urbanization, its electrification is a high-priority stage on the way to meeting the goals, in particular the encouragement of new income-generating activities.
In this context, the mountains are special ecosystems that should be preserved. “The mountains are an important reservoir for water, energy and biological diversity. Furthermore, they contain essential resources such as minerals, forest and agricultural products, and recreational services. In their role as major ecosystems within the complex ecology of our planet, mountain environments are essential to the survival of the world ecosystem. Yet mountain ecosystems are undergoing rapid change. They are at risk of accelerated soil erosion, landslides, and rapid loss of habitat and genetic diversity. On a human level, poverty is widespread among mountain residents and the knowledge of indigenous populations is being lost. As a result, most of the world’s mountainous areas are subject to degradation of their environment. That is why appropriate management of mountain resources and the socioeconomic development of mountain populations deserve immediate action.” [6]
B. Preserving the mountain environment Goal 7 of the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the 191 Member States of the United Nations aims to “integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs; reverse loss of environmental resources.” [2] In the Millennium Declaration, we can also see a rethinking of production and consumption modes that might turn out to cause pollution: “The current unsustainable patterns of production and consumption must be changed in the interest of our future welfare and that of our descendants.” [3] This is the case for many modes of energy production that use fossil-fuel energy and so produce noxious wastes that are harmful to the environment.
C. Suggesting a specific technical response As a technology and a development tool, electrification must satisfy the three criteria that form an integral part of sustainable development: social equity, environmental protection, and economic efficiency. To date, decentralized energy production in developing countries has often been tied to a single energy source (diesel, solar, hydroelectric, wind, or biogas) and supplied a single dwelling or a single village. Such production systems are isolated, and for that reason, are uncertain in nature and depend heavily on weather conditions and resource availability. They cannot guarantee reliability or a secure supply. Most of the time, these production facilities are delivered as turnkey systems and are poorly adapted to the region (since they take into account neither the local context, in particular the strengths and weaknesses of the installation site, nor the possibility of ownership by the recipients). In addition, it is extremely difficult to monitor such facilities because they use imported technology with high production costs. Such projects neglect the regional dimension.
This situation is found in Morocco, where there are few local energy resources. National production depends on non-renewable resources such as hydrocarbons and coal, which are the country’s main primary energy sources. According to an assessment done for an African Development Bank project, “the country’s energy dependence rate, which measures the share of imported energy in supplying the national energy demand, is on the order of 97%. The contribution of the hydroelectric infrastructure to meeting the country’s energy needs varies greatly depending on rainfall. Though this figure was 17% in 1996 and 1997, hydropower was able to meet only 8.6% of the country’s energy needs in 2003. Wind power, which has been available since 2000, still has a marginal share: 53.5 MW in 2003, though the country’s wind energy potential is estimated at 6,000 MW.” [4]
As we write, electrical energy distribution facilities consisting often of a hybrid micro-grid with multiple sources of primary energy (“multiple injection”) are using only two different sources of renewable energy.
At the same time, it is also appropriate to devote some attention to the methods used in managing the natural environment of mountainous areas, because rural populations often are not well served by large energy
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Some applications have been successful and others less so, due to the difficulty of taking into account all of the constraints, which can be social (demographic growth, low level of education, scattered dwellings), technological (sophistication of imported equipment, lack of maintenance), environmental (limited energy resources), economic (very low incomes, investments), or political (lack of suitable active program).
development through suitably adapted, sustainable electrification. - Training: This area focused on developing multidisciplinary expertise in the areas of renewable energy and decentralized multiple-injection electrical micro-grids that are suitable for isolated areas (laboratories, internships, seminars, training of trainers). The project’s success was related to the number and interaction of its components. Training, development, the notion of consulting, and the socioeconomic impact were all deemed to be inseparable from the project’s implementation and follow-up. This type of problem therefore required a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach.
Thus, it would seem appropriate to suggest an approach able to clearly define how one should implement a decision-support process for choosing the optimal electrification system. III. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS The primary objective of the Decentralized Rural Electrification (ERD) project was to develop a technology for the production of electrical energy from several types of renewable primary energy sources (water, solar or wind energy, biogaz) to supply small networks of isolated consumers, with the possibility of interconnecting these networks. It was felt that such a decentralized micro-grid should be compatible with the national network to allow for future connection.
A. A decision-support process for choosing the optimal electrification system This research-action project concerned the creation of a decentralized electrical micro-grid able to supply several villages, with multi-source production, the advantage of which lies both in equal access for all villages, and their inhabitants, and in the sharing of natural resources. However, the solution had to be the most appropriate one given the existing socioeconomic, environmental and technical constraints.
Still, the institutions responsible for this research-action project agreed from its inception that the use of decentralized energy production techniques made sense only if it was incorporated into an overall regional development context and helped improve the living conditions and income of the rural populations.
From a socioeconomic perspective, three issues were noted: the cost of the electricity, such that it corresponds as much as possible to the peoples’ ability to contribute; future needs, such that the amount that must be produced to meet demand can be evaluated; and finally, ownership by the residents in such a way as to encourage good management of the infrastructure.
For this reason, a consensus was quickly formed with regard to the project’s objectives, which were: - to participate in promoting the sustainable development of the Ouneine Valley by supplying quality electricity to a group of villages by means of a decentralized microgrid powered by various renewable energy sources, and - to gain new knowledge and experience in the area of rural electrification on both the technical and sociological levels. The ERD project was seen as a pilot project for isolated areas.
Environmentally speaking, it was agreed to attempt to make the best use of natural resources to produce clean energy, but also to respect the environment and the landscape when installing the micro-grid. Finally, the technical constraints were: - to maintain unchanged the irrigation flow and the water distribution in turn, - to guarantee a sufficient supply of electrical energy over time (control, operational and maintenance facilities, etc.), - to ensure the adequacy of the electricity produced and distributed with respect to large grids (constant voltage and frequency, no harmonics). In order to achieve this, each unit’s control system had to be capable of operating (1) while connected to the relevant decentralized microgrid, (2) in isolation if necessary, and (3) while connected to the supposedly inflexible national grid.
In order to achieve these objectives, the EPFL and TargaAid worked together in the context of a research-action project with three areas of focus: - Research and development: This area involved developing a methodology for a comprehensive approach, along with suitable software, for a comprehensive approach to producing and distributing decentralized electrical energy from multiple renewable sources (optimal simulation, optimal design and management); these had to incorporate both the technical and socioeconomic aspects, and be reproducible. - Implementation at a field site: In this case, the site was the Ouneine Valley in the Upper Atlas area of Morocco, with the establishment of a multiple-injection electrical micro-grid connecting 18 villages, geographically distributed over three areas; and promotion of local
In order to deal with these various constraints, it was deemed necessary to undertake several complementary measures at the same time. From a socioeconomic point of view, a number of surveys were taken to evaluate the residents’ resources
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and changes in consumption over ten years, creating a typology of the population’s needs (including the creation of activities that use electricity, but also demographic growth rates and incomes).
- incorporation of local knowledge that could be combined with the scientific aspects and new technologies, - participation in the costs, construction and management of the network.
From an environmental standpoint, it was essential to select the renewable energies to be used as soon as the project was designed.
Participation by households took several forms: - in cash, through disbursements for indoor electrical installations (after the energy meter) and low-voltage works, - in kind, through workdays at the various construction sites. The commitment of the residents in the first area of the project was quite remarkable in this regard, as construction of the penstock and the hydroelectric microplant’s irrigation canal represented respectively between forty and fifty days of work per household.
Finally, on the technical level, to help select the best solution among several production variants, taking all of the constraints into account, the EPFL developed the OptElDec software, a simulation based decision support tool. [7] The data, as processed by the OptElDec program, led to the selection of an electrical energy production and distribution system for the three selected areas in the valley (18 villages, 440 households) that consisted of: - two hydroelectric power plants, - one wind-powered plant, and - one photovoltaic power plant.
Additionally, in order to assure local autonomy of operation, the interior electrical fixtures in homes and the low-voltage distribution system were built by technicians from the electrified villages, who were trained on site. Similarly, once the first micro-plant was constructed, it was operated by a local technician after training.
Then, it was necessary, for the chosen system, to verify its static and dynamic behavior, using the SIMSEN1 software developed by EPFL. Particularly, that simulation allows to designing the final technical characteristics for control and safety equipments.
It should be clearly noted that the participatory process was not without glitches, rough spots and dead stops. It required long periods of dialogue and mediation, which sometimes led to a radical shift in the direction of project implementation. As described in a report by the High Council of French International Cooperation (HCCI), “participation can be an asset for finding innovative solutions to the contradictions that crop up between the various development objectives. Dialogue is planned into cooperative mechanisms. But is it possible? It can bring out conflicts, hence the usefulness of mediation and support tools during the emergence of powers and opposition powers. Unrealistic expectations, the political context, the lack of representativeness of the partners, and the risk of exploitation are frequent complications. An effective participatory process will take criticism and suggestions into account, will allow to some degree for a ‘right to make mistakes,’ and for a possible reversal and redirection of ways of working, and even of strategic objectives and the logical framework.” [9]
Subsequent phases consisted in building these power plants, with heavy involvement by local residents. B. A local participatory approach A participatory approach is essential for development projects, with the goal of making the technical changes sustainable. As noted by Bassand, Galland and Joye (1992), “introducing science and technology into society is not a simple matter of grafting knowledge, expertise, practices and techniques onto a social fabric that is not ready for them. We do not have science and technology on one side, and society on the other. On the contrary, the first two must become deeply rooted in the latter, and whether or not they can blossom depends on realities that are simultaneously material, social, economic, cultural, historical and political.” Likewise, technology is “inextricably tied to culture (values, signs and symbols, knowledge), social and political organization, and the natural surroundings.” [8] The participatory approach and assumption of ownership by the local population are essential points that were included in the project design and implementation as well as the operation and future management of the equipment. For this purpose, three levels of public involvement were distinguished during the project’s implementation: - identification, through public surveys, of the short- and long-term economic usefulness, as well as the societal demand. This involved evaluating public receptiveness to ensure the project’s social feasibility as regards, 1
C. A North/South exchange In accordance with the purpose of scientific cooperation in development, the project was intent on accomplishing two things: [10] - incorporate the rigor of scientific research, - apply its results from a sustainable development perspective. Such was the context that gave rise to the cooperation between the EPFL and its Moroccan partners, the Hassan II Institute of Agronomics and Veterinary Science, and Targa-Aid, as well as to its research-action approach. This partnership had the benefit of long experience. Indeed, for over twenty years, these Moroccan
For more details, visit http://simsen.epfl.ch.
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institutions have been active in managing research programs related to the integrated development of fragile ecological zones, of which the isolated Ouneine Valley is one. Throughout the process, the public expressed expectations, which gave rise to an experimental program at the village level. This integrated rural development program comprised different components incorporating technical and socioeconomic innovations likely to improve the people’s living conditions, and diversify and increase revenue sources. These included the introduction of fish farming, the construction of potable water networks with individual connections, the creation of water and sanitary systems tied in with the mosque, the development of water resources for agricultural use, and the electrification of two villages, one in 1992 via a hydroelectric micro-plant at Takordmi, the other in 1999 via a photovoltaic micro-plant at Tighuicht.
order to implement a research-action project that takes into account the complexity of the local society, technical uncertainties, and conflicting values. For example, the use of water as an energy source has significant consequences in an area where it is subject to quotas. Thus, the construction of a system for producing electricity from hydroelectric turbines leads to a streamlining of the agricultural water supply. This is an important economic and social issue because it influences crop yields. The division of water has been established for generations and is a customary law. As a result, arrangements for this change in “standards” has to be made with the landowners in order to guarantee that farmers will have the same water resources as before. Therefore, in implementing such projects, it is appropriate to pin down the psychological, social, economic and political factors that interact with the selection, development, and spread of technologies. This makes it possible to observe how the two normative systems of standards are sometimes in opposition and at other times complementary.
It was based on this knowledge, and the pressing demand from Ouneine residents, that the electrification project came into being. This partnership dynamic was also in response to a desire to compare experiences, as well as to exchange and transfer knowledge and abilities. In the end, it was designed from the perspective of acting as two scientific teams, one of whose primary objectives was to suggest a social and technical approach that could be reproduced in other isolated areas. [11]
E. Sustainable management of infrastructures A special effort to ensure the sustainable management of infrastructures was made in designing and implementing the micro-grid management. This required the establishment of an entity able to take unique local characteristics into account.
D. Blending technology and society: adapting the project to social standards The ERD project was conceived as a multidimensional, interdisciplinary project able to blend technical and social components.
In Morocco, each village has a traditional decisionmaking body called the jma’a, consisting primarily of heads of households (women are excluded). Yet, where management of electrical equipment is concerned, the jma’a cannot be the decision-making body for the population because it has no official authority.
Of particular interest were the interactions between technical and social standards.
Thus, responsibility for managing and operating the project equipment was entrusted to Village Associations elected especially for the purpose, or which had been set up previously for other community projects (such as the construction of a mosque or the supply of potable water). The obligations of these Associations, which eventually will become the owners of the facilities, are formalized in contracts. Money from electricity payments is deposited into the Association’s accounts to cover their expenses. Sums collected in this way ensure facility maintenance and provide funding for new local development projects.
A technical standard is a set of customary rules, or technical instructions, concerning the characteristics of a product or method, prescribed with the goal of ensuring that certain methods of operation, safety standards and pollution levels are observed. For the ERD project, these technical standards were introduced with the arrival of the electricity produced, using a new methodology adapted to the local context. As for the social standards, Jean Maisoneuve equates them with behavioral models, concluding that these two notions describe “the type of conduct widely exhibited within a given group, the non-observance of which is accompanied by more or less explicit sanctions, and which the members of the group accept more or less consciously and completely.” [12] The arrival and development of the project, and the production and implementation of technical standards generated by this electrification project led to disruptions that required technical and social mediation. The interactions that arise in practice between technical, social and institutional data must be acknowledged in
In each village, the Village Association is also responsible for managing use and maintaining the electrical network (electrical energy meter reading, payment for use, facility maintenance, etc). At a higher level, management of the micro-grid (production, transport and distribution) is entrusted to a Federation of Village Associations, which consists of representatives of each Village Association involved in this action.
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In this context, training workshops were held for members of the Associations involved in the project to provide basic knowledge about the Association’s legal basis, management, accounting, and project organization.
question as to whether one can legitimately adopt technical solutions that meet local needs, yet differ from national standards. In the end, these disagreements helped draw attention to the fact that other methods and technical standards that meet local needs can be used.
This type of management encourages participation by local residents by allowing them total “ownership” of the project. Autonomy is ensured through the transfer of technical knowledge (since the Associations are responsible for maintaining the infrastructures) and also financial skills.
This example, which shows the great difficulty of adapting to innovations, is unfortunately not specific to the ONE, but is relevant to most institutions considered to be the State’s operators in rural development. So it would be advisable to continue to try different “pilot” approaches to find models that could be reproduced on a large scale to limit costs.
F. Institutional stakes Right from its design and startup phase, the ERD project met a demand arising from the Ouneine Valley’s isolated rural population. It was all the more justified since the Moroccan National Electrical Agency (ONE) was not planning to electrify the area any time soon. As it happened, its low population density and isolation had led the electricity supplier to give more economically profitable areas higher priority for electrification.
IV. MAIN RESULTS AND PROSPECTS A. A micro-grid adapted to local needs The project’s initial goal was to build different power plants (four, as mentioned above), conforming to the initial assessments, in three areas of the valley.
Thus, this project resulted in a certain number of technical standards that both responded to residents’ wishes and made sense overall in terms of sustainable local development. It used a clean, autonomous energy source to create an electrical network that carefully took advantage of the valley’s natural potential.
The first step was to implement the project in one of the three selected areas. A 45-kW hydroelectric power plant allowed for the electrification of seven villages (a rural administrative division equivalent to about 250 households). There was a 100% rate of connection to the micro-grid. Collective facilities (mosques, schools) were also electrified and public lighting was installed.
After the directory staff of the Moroccan National Electrical Agencys has visited Ouneine valley, the ONE’s strategy quickly changed. Influenced by the local dynamic resulting from the ERD electrification project, and certainly fearing competition therefrom, it undertook to install medium- and high-voltage lines in the valley.
Certain adaptations were made to the construction and management of the micro-grid. For example, in order to discharge the excess energy produced, was discharged in a 750 liter electric water heater wich was set up in the mosque of the village where the power plant is located. The heater’s operation depends on the water level in the reservoir, without decreasing the quality of the electricity or the amount of water available for irrigation. This helps reduce the heavy use of wood for heating and cooking (estimated at an average of 130 kg per household per week). Also, in setting up facilities for production, transport and distribution, care was taken to preserve the landscape as much as possible, while at the same time meeting international standards. This is why the low-voltage cables were buried and the current 2-km medium-voltage line is on wooden poles and runs along the side of a hill.
Initially, this state of affairs completely upset the project dynamic. When it established its network, the ONE attempted to impose its technical standards as well as new rules that would apply both to the management of the network (especially where rates were concerned, since the cost per kWh is set by law at the national level) and to the standardization of the electrical facilities. After two years of negotiations, Targa-Aid, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the ONE managed to strike a partnership agreement defining the latter’s position with regard to the valley and the ERD project. This agreement specified the relationships among the different partners. It allowed for a better coordination of the various actions and a continuation of the project experiment outside of any pressure from the national network. [13]
In continuing implementation of the project, the project team hoped to use the technical knowledge gained during construction of the first power plant. It was therefore necessary to take another look at the technical study to confirm the initial choices (taking into account the change in local situation, namely the installation of the ONE’s grid in the valley, and the advancement of the project at the people’s pace). Three solutions were studied (based on the initial technical and socioeconomic criteria) using the OptElDec software: - an increase in reservoir size at the first power plant, a
So the work of the ERD project, which was trying to perfect the technical standards, was nearly stopped by a national authority claiming institutional and technical legitimacy. Aside from the purely institutional question, the issue of defining the standards came up. One of these entities was offering a technical innovation that clashed with a national institution cloaked in a legitimacy that was difficult to challenge. Finally, this brings up the
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solution that was quickly rejected by the residents, who were afraid that such work would affect irrigation, - the construction of a second hydroelectric power plant, and - the construction of a photovoltaic micro-power plant.
populations, but rather to contribute to a gradual improvement in the residents’ living conditions. So it would be appropriate to continue capitalizing on the knowledge gained through the program and to perfect the data produced to suggest new courses of action for the future.
Based on the selected criteria, calculations showed that the construction of a second 21-kW hydroelectric power plant would be optimal. Work will start soon, and will allow the energy supply to be increased to meet the needs of local development.
V. CONCLUSIONS This research-action project enabled us to develop a sustainable technical approach for the electrification of isolated rural areas.
B. Endogenous local development In social terms, it is clear that electrification tends to improve the people’s living conditions notably. Modern lighting is a comfort that people – especially women – do not want to give up once they have become accustomed to having it, even when the available power is very low. With electricity, women can distribute more adequately their work time throughout the day, especially during the winter, since they are no longer limited by natural light.
Three elements (social, environmental and economic) needed to be taken into account in this respect: - attention to the unique characteristics of the local society, which must necessarily be involved in the physical completion of the work as well as the maintenance and sustainable management of the infrastructures, - adaptation of the technology to the local environmental conditions: the preparation and implementation of the project were always done after an exhaustive study of the local environmental potential in order to produce clean, renewable energy and ensure a quality supply, and - consideration of local needs and household economic situations in determining the scale of the equipment, so as to produce energy that can be used by everyone.
Generally speaking, daily household routines changed substantially after the arrival of electricity, as could be seen in the village of Tiguicht. This has also had certain negative effects, which should not be glossed over. For example, residents stay up significantly later than before, especially because of television, which affects hours of sleep, children’s school work, and the time spent at social gatherings or with family.
The project team would like to continue the actions it has begun by: - building a second hydroelectric power plant, - encouraging income-generating activities, and - capitalizing on this project in such a way as to be able to reproduce a similar approach on other sites.
At the same time, the project should now support the Village Associations in implementing income-generating activities and community actions that use electricity to operate. This activity will help show the value of electrification as a development tool and support the dynamic of endogenous local development.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The project team would like to thank the people of the Ouneine Valley for their welcome, His Excellency the Ambassador of Switzerland to Morocco for his support, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation for its financial and moral backing, and the various partners of the project who worked hard every day and cooperated to ensure its success.
Once the implementation of this phase is complete, the project team will be able, on the basis of preliminary studies, to study the real impact of electrification and draw conclusions as to the reproducibility of the approach. C. Reproducibility of the approach The idea of a project’s reproducibility is built on the premise that an operation naturally ought to be repeated if its objectives are met.
REFERENCES [1] Royaume du Maroc, Ministère de l’Aménagement du Territoire, de l’Eau et de l’Environnement, Département de l’Aménagement du Territoire, Le Schéma National d’Aménagement du Territoire, Groupe Huit - Sud / 2003. [2] Resolution adopted by the General Assembly [without reference to a Main Committee (A/55/L.2)] 55/2. United Nations Millennium Declaration, The General Assembly Adopts the following Declaration: United Nations Millennium Declaration Resolution, 8th Plenary Meeting, 8 September 2000. [3] Ibid. [4] Royaume du Maroc, Banque Africaine de Développement, Projet de centrale thermosolaire de
In the context of the ERD project, thought is currently being given to the reproducibility of the technological and sociological innovations where environmental and social conditions permit. This intent has been taken into account since the design stage and throughout the project. Indeed, the objective of this program was not to end up with a “model electrification project” that did not match the needs and financial resources of the relevant
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[5] [6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12] [13]
Ain Beni Mathar, Rapport d’évaluation, Département Infrastructure ONIN Régions Nord, Est et Sud, Septembre 2004. GERES, http://www.co2solidaire.org/fr/projets/maroc.php. UN, Agenda 21, Chapter 13: Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development, http://www.un.org/french/events/rio92/agenda21/. S. Keller, S. Naciri, A. Nejmi, Simulation based decision support tool for electrification of isolated areas using a network with multiple renewable sources, ICCEP Capri, May 2007. M. Bassand, B. Galland et D. Joye (textes réunis par), Transformations techniques et sociétés, Peter Lang SA, Berne, 1992, 263 p. Haut Conseil de la Coopération Internationale, Critères de développement durable appliqués aux actions de coopération et de solidarité internationale, Janvier 2005, 40 p. J.-C. Bolay (2004), World globalization, sustainable development and scientific cooperation, in International Journal of Sustainable Development, Vol. 7, No. 2, Wolverton Mill, UK, pp. 99-120. M. Schmid et J. Dos Ghali (2004), Électrification décentralisée par micro-réseau à partir d'énergies renouvelables : pour un développement intégré de la vallée de l'Ouneine, Haut-Atlas marocain, in J.-C. Bolay et M. Schmid (dir.), Coopération et développement durable, vers un partenariat scientifique nord-sud, PPUR, Lausanne. J. Maisoneuve, La psychologie sociale, Que sais-je? PUF, 2002, 125 p. Abslam Dahman Saidi (2005) La dynamique du développement local des zones enclavées : entre normes techniques et légitimité institutionnelle in Aziz Iraki (dir) "Développement rural, pertinence des territoires et gouvernance", Institut National d'Aménagement et d'Urbanisme et RELOR, Rabat
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