The evaluation of the photovoltaic potential in the urban environment Case of the Nador City / Morocco

Currently, around half of the world’s population is concentrated in cities, as indicated by UN forecasts (2014). These growths lead us to reflect on the development of cities and their impact on the environment. Indeed, the use of roofs that are often unusable spaces can contribute to the satisfaction of the energy needs of the city and its inhabitants. Using Nador City as a case study area, this project aims to study the possibility that the roofs are supplied with solar panels by delimiting the authorized roof areas. The procedure using in this study made it possible to obtain the regions with the greatest localization capacity of photovoltaic systems as well as an approximation of the energy produced according to solar radiation by comparing the expected results to be obtained with different photovoltaic modules. An important feature of this method is the use of a LIDAR data point cloud, allowing the creation of a digital surface model (DSM) of the study area which is the main source of information. In this way, a Boolean multi-criteria analysis was carried out based on the geographic information system (GIS) taking into account a series of criteria associated with spatial characteristics such as the shadow, the inclination and orientation, and the accessibility to roofs, without excluding the elimination of inadequate buildings. Statistical analysis indicates that 61% of the rooftop segments identified are suitable for photovoltaic systems with an annual production of electricity reaching 452.88 GWh which could meet the energy needs of the city and a considerable annual monetary gain estimated at 443.81 million dirhams. In general, this project allows urban planners and decision-makers to obtain a clear vision and to make decisions on realistic and sustainable objectives.