Title : The potentials and challenges of photovoltaics in the desert region

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  Abstract : Between 2016 and 2030, the primary energy demand of Morocco will be nearly tripled and quadrupled for electric power. Morocco has a vision to clear the way to becoming a major player in renewable energy, especially solar energy. It is planned to deploy more than 10000 MW of renewable energy across the kingdom in the next 14 years. The share of renewable electricity will be 52%, which will outweigh the share of fossil fuel electricity. To reach this target, it is very important to characterize the different technologies and if necessary to adapt them to the specific climate conditions. In this context and on the one hand, the presentation intends to introduce the Photovoltaic outdoor test platform in the “Green Energy Park”, as part of cooperation between the Moroccan Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies (IRESEN) and the German Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics (FhG CSP) and on the other hand, to highlight the potentials and challenges of PV in arid and semiarid regions. The “Green Energy Park”, a unique test, research and training platform has been established by IRESEN and the Polytechnic University Mohammed VI in Ben Guerir. These outdoor test platforms are designed, combining a multitude of test-set-ups, in order to investigate and characterize PV modules in harsh weather conditions and to get valuable data about their performances in situ. Different solutions regarding aspects of module improvements, in design and in materials for hot Moroccan regions are introduced and can be implemented in different regions in Africa.



Biography

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  Mr. Badr Ikken received an engineer degree in mechanical engineering and industrial production & solar systems from the Berlin Institute of Technology. He wrote a thesis on production technologies of hard materials. During 8 years, he worked in the Department for Machining Technology of the Institute for Machine Tools and Factory Management (IWF) in Berlin, first as a research associate, then as a project manager. In the Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (Fraunhofer IPK), he served as leader for several industrial projects involving companies such as Siemens Power Generation, INA Schaeffler, Saint-Gobain Diamantwerkzeuge, Audi AG and SGL Carbon.
  Between 2008 and 2010, Badr Ikken served as CTO of the multinational company Lunos-Raumluftsysteme. During this period, he developed and launched two new production lines in Germany. He also expanded the production in China. In September 2010, he joined the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) as Director of Integrated Development, in charge of. Industrial Integration and R&D. He co-founded the Moroccan-based National Institute IRESEN (Institute of Research in Solar Energy and New Energies). He is the General Director of IRESEN since July 2011 and established 2014 the largest solar research platform in Africa, the Green Energy Park.
  In 2005, he was awarded the Carl-Eduard-Schulte-Prize from the Association of German Engineers (VDI) for his research efforts in Industrial Production. He was member of the Management Board of IWF Berlin between 2005 and 2007 and founding member of the German National Committee for machining of hard materials.
• His publications, h-index and quality of research can be found at: