🕒 Last updated on August 30, 2025
Morocco is facing its worst drought in decades. The country’s water reserves have dropped sharply, leaving many dams and reservoirs at only one-third of their normal capacity.
A country struggling with water loss
Rainfall has been less frequent than usual, and temperatures are rising more quickly than they used to. Together, these conditions are causing a major water crisis.
Between October 2022 and September 2023, Morocco lost the equivalent of more than 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water every single day to evaporation. Higher heat makes water disappear faster into the air, and this adds to the shortage already caused by less rain.
One of the worst-hit areas is the reservoir near Tangier, a northern city close to the Mediterranean Sea. This important water body loses around 3,000 cubic meters of water each day. In the hot summer months, the loss can double. With so much water vanishing, Morocco is searching for new ways to save what it has left.
Authorities have already relied on desalination—the process of turning seawater into drinkable water. Currently, the country produces about 320 million cubic meters a year. By 2030, there are plans to increase this to 1.7 billion cubic meters. But desalination alone is not enough. That is why Morocco has now turned to a new, creative solution: floating solar panels.
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The floating solar experiment in Tangier
Thousands of “floatovoltaic” panels have been placed on the water’s surface at the Tangier reservoir. These floating solar panels are designed to do two things at the same time. They slow down evaporation in the first place by preventing the sun’s rays from striking the water directly. Second, by absorbing sunlight, they produce power.
Over 400 floating platforms with thousands of panels have been installed thus far. Authorities plan to increase this number to 22,000 panels, covering about 10 hectares of the reservoir’s 123-hectare surface. Once finished, the project will be able to produce around 13 megawatts of clean electricity. This will be enough to power the nearby Tanger Med port complex, one of the largest industrial hubs in the region.
Officials believe that the floating panels can cut evaporation by nearly 30 percent. Even if the reduction seems small compared to the size of the reservoir, it is still an important step. Every drop of water saved matters in a country where shortages are becoming more severe each year.
The idea of floating solar is not completely new. Countries including France, Indonesia, and Thailand are already testing such schemes. Some of the biggest floating solar farms in the world are located in China. But for Morocco, this is a pioneering project. The Tangier reservoir is one of the first places in North Africa to use this technology.
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Along the reservoir’s banks, authorities also intend to plant trees in addition to the solar panels. These trees can help reduce strong winds, which are believed to increase evaporation further. By combining solar technology with natural solutions like tree planting, Morocco hopes to protect both its water and its energy future.
Expanding water and energy projects across Morocco
The Tangier pilot project is just the beginning. Two additional floating solar projects already have assessment studies in progress. The Oued El Makhazine dam, one of the biggest in the country’s north, is the site of one. Lalla Takerkoust, a reservoir close to Marrakesh, is the site of the other study.
The need for such projects is becoming urgent. Morocco’s rainfall-fed water supplies have decreased by about 75% since the 1980s, according to data. Back then, the country could rely on about 18 billion cubic meters of water each year. Today, that number has shrunk to just five billion cubic meters annually.
Morocco has also been constructing what it refers to as a “water highway” in an effort to assist in offsetting the shortages. The capital city of Rabat receives water from the Sebou basin via this 67-kilometer canal. Authorities plan to expand this network so that surplus water in the north can be sent to central and southern areas that are struggling the most with drought.
Still, challenges remain. Covering an entire reservoir with solar panels is not possible. The surface is too large and uneven, and water levels can rise or fall sharply, which may damage the floating platforms. Despite these difficulties, Morocco is moving forward with its tests.
The combination of renewable energy and water-saving technology is seen as an important gain for the country. Even if evaporation is only reduced by a small percentage, it adds up when applied across different reservoirs. Saving water while producing electricity makes the floating solar experiment one of the most talked-about projects in the region today.