Techno-Economic and Environmental Analysis of a Renewable Hybrid System in Southern Morocco

This article presents an assessment of the technical and economic feasibility of a 20 MW grid-connected windsolar-photovoltaic hybrid system in the city of Dakhla, located in southern Morocco. During this study, GIS and virtual reality were integrated to model and simulate the productivity of the hybrid system under local climatic conditions. Additionally, 3D modeling of the system provides an immersive view to visually assess the system’s impact on the local landscape and anticipate potential logistical challenges. By taking advantage of this technology, our study goes beyond traditional models, proposing an innovative approach to better understand the spatial and visual dimensions of the project. The results of our study, based on these state-of-the-art methodologies, reveal promising conclusions regarding its annual energy production, which is approximately 60 GW, the levelized cost of energy of the system, which is approximately LCOE = $0.045/kWh, the net present value (NPV) of $27,439,559.00, the internal rate of return (IRR) of 17.5%, and a discounted payback period (DPP) of 8 years. Additionally, from an environmental perspective, the hybrid system has the capacity to avoid approximately 936,494 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to savings of approximately $18,729,875.00 in terms of carbon dioxide reduction over its lifetime.