Millions of dirhams are mobilized for the maintenance of solar power plants. Out of sight, this niche is a real business in the large market of ecological transition. Decryption!
A few years ago, the economic landscape remembers the stall operation of the maintenance tender by ACWA Power of the Noor solar power plant, developed by the Saudi giant of renewable energies. Operational since the beginning of 2016, for a production of 160 MW of green energy, this large-scale project had a maintenance cost of around 100 MDH. We also remember the call for tenders for the maintenance of the Ain Beni Mathar solar-gas power plant won by the Spanish Abengoa for nearly 63 million euros. Covering a total area of 160 hectares, this hybrid power plant, which is located in the Oriental region 90 km south of the city of Oujda, develops a total power of 472 MW, 20 MW of which comes from thermo-technology. solar CSP. So in this dynamic of all-out energy transition, the maintenance ecosystem is a fairly important part and a real financial niche.
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However, the bitter observation is that this niche is largely dominated by foreign operators. In addition to solar power plants, that of wind farms generating billions of dirhams is also managed by foreign operators. Like energy services, the maintenance component is now a veritable financial mine that goes under the radar. “In general, in the estimate of the costs of what is called the LCOE (levelized cost of energy) we introduce the maintenance costs which are calculated as a percentage of the investment. So photovoltaic solar power plants which are fixed in general cost between 1% and 1.5% of the investment and as soon as they become mobile they cost between 2% and 3% of the investment. And thermodynamic solar power plants, those that produce steam before producing electricity, cost between 4% and 5% because of heavier maintenance,” explains Amin Bennouna, Expert in Renewable Energy.
Immersion in the world of solar maintenance!
Contacted by Challenge, the Moroccan subsidiary of the French energy expert ADIWATT, is very present in maintenance activities at the local level. “The field of photovoltaic solar energy involves several types of maintenance. We retain two convincing ones: systematic and curative preventive maintenance. We first discuss routine preventive maintenance. One of the main components of a solar power plant is the inverter, a key component in energy transformation. In the general case, a replacement is scheduled every ten years, which is recommended by the inverter manufacturers. This is mandatory to respect the warranty, but is justified by the high performance of the inverters over time. In addition, we remind you that the modules are retained by structures to be checked, and that the electrical energy passes through cables. These elements are also to be checked during preventive maintenance in order to ensure the excellent overall condition of the solar power plant”, confides Karim Boukaa Managing Partner Adiwatt Afrique.
And to add: “Furthermore, preventive maintenance makes it possible to ensure ideal performance of the solar power plant. We note in particular the cleaning of solar modules, which are responsible for the generation of energy and the major players in the green transition. The modules get dirty naturally, because of the numerous particles transported by the surrounding air (natural like dust, where the air is charged because of the activity of the industry which had the plant installed), or even by the local fauna. It is therefore appropriate to offer our customers this type of maintenance to prevent excessive fouling which might harm energy production, according to a proper schedule. For example, we offer and organize a cleaning every month”.
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For his part, the renewable energy expert goes further by explaining: “In Morocco, in terms of technology, we have a tower power station and two parabolic trough power stations. And these have a number of common points in terms of maintenance. They all use mirrors and therefore require relatively regular mirror cleaning. And there is maintenance of all the piping that allows the heat to be transported from the concentration points to the places where the steam is produced, which allows the turbines to turn”. And to add: “As regards photovoltaic solar power plants, most of the maintenance consists of cleaning the modules, which is much less frequent than mirror power plants”.
Maintenance, a governance issue
Since 2009, Morocco under the royal vision is resolutely engaged in a dynamic of ecological transition, and in its roadmap structuring its energy objectives entitled: “NATIONAL STRATEGY OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY 2030”, the question of maintenance occupies a place important. We can read that: “equipment maintenance allows them to reduce their energy bill over the long term (5 to 10 year contracts), substantially (minimum 10% savings) and without investment, as well as being able to benefit from energy efficiency and to capitalize on a strong environmental signature”. And according to another study by the AMEE on the challenges of perfect control of maintenance, “good maintenance can reduce energy costs by up to 50%.
