Economic Growth Morocco Project #48330

Localize Access to Renewable Energies in Morocco

by High Atlas Foundation

Localize Access to Renewable Energies in Morocco

Project Report | May 23, 2025
Harnessing the Sun: Solar-Powered Irrigation Revives Morocco's High Atlas

By Mohammed Ajrinija | Program Manager Relief & Rebuilding

When the quake shattered mountain springs and cracked ancient canals, we knew that bringing water back to life would take more than pipes—it would take the sun.

Between November 2024 and May 2025, our team at the High Atlas Foundation, backed by GlobalGiving, quietly installed solar pumps and built irrigation basins in four High Atlas villages.

The result? Villagers trading in diesel generators and bucket brigades for a sun-driven, hands-free flow of water.

Solar Pumps: Wells and Springs That Run on Sunshine

In Wizemaran, Imlil and Ouled Khlifa, we bolted 180 photovoltaic panels onto roofs and hillsides. Those panels now power three robust pumps—one in each village—that draw water from deep wells without a drop of diesel.

In Wizemaran, the pump hums even before sunrise, filling an 80 m³ tank and pushing water through 4 km of shiny new pipes. No waiting for fuel deliveries; it simply works whenever daylight hits the panels.
Imlil’s high-altitude well got its solar makeover in April. Gravity now carries that water down to two brand-new 75 m³ basins, ready at any moment to quench orchards and vegetable plots.
Ouled Khlifa, saw its solar array flipped on in March. Sixty panels now drive a pump that feeds 6 km of pipe, keeping faucets and animal troughs full day and night.

By swapping diesel for sunlight, these villages save money, cut maintenance headaches—and, best of all, control their own water supply with the flip of a switch.

Basins & Canals: Catching Every Precious Drop

Power is only part of the story. We also built five new irrigation basins—two in Boughzir, one in Wizemaran and two in Imlil—each holding up to 120 m³ of water. That means a slow drizzle today becomes a drip-fed lifeline tomorrow.

Boughzir’s basins and four kilometers of fresh piping mean farmers finally water their cherry and almond trees on schedule, instead of chasing spring flows.
In Wizemaran, we repaired 2.8 km of historic sequia and carved 150 m of new canals, reviving ancestral terraces that had lain dry since the quake.
Imlil’s twin basins perch like glassy mirrors in the sun, delivering a steady stream down to fields below—no pump needed once they’re topped off.

All told, these basins can store around 600 m³ of water. When the time comes to plant those 50 000 endemic fruit trees, every sapling will have a reservoir waiting.

Beyond Pipes: Independence & Hope

This isn’t just infrastructure—it’s freedom. Women and girls no longer shoulder heavy jugs at dawn; farmers plan their crops around seasons, not generator schedules. And by tapping into clean solar power, these communities have a blueprint for resilience: wells that run on the weather, basins that capture every drop, and canals that whisper life back into terraced slopes.

Next, we’ll carry this model to all 21 villages in the Aghbar Valley. Because when the sun fuels your water, you’re not just rebuilding—you’re reimagining what’s possible.

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Jan 23, 2025
"Building Back Better" Means Localizing Renewable Energy

By Alicia Baker | Reporting Officer

Sep 24, 2024
Localize Access to Renewable Energies in Morocco

By Kaitlyn Waring | HAF Intern

Background

Renewable energy (RE) sources power transformational outcomes for community development projects from all sectors. To secure cross-cutting benefits, localized (or decentralized) RE initiatives need to follow the same essential model of sustainable projects in general, which is that members of villages and neighborhoods must first identify and then implement their own priorities for development and change.

RE by nature will always be bound to the full landscape of human development. It inherently thrives on decentralized systems because of its constant need to adapt with local conditions and situations depending on the most urgent needs and priorities of the local people.

Activities

Clean water remains a priority over decades for rural Moroccan people. This has only been exacerbated in the aftermath of the 2023 earthquake that left enormous amounts of water and energy infrastructure damaged.

Because of the shift in priorities of rural Moroccan communities, the High Atlas Foundation has focused on addressing these urgent needs in the months after the earthquake. A critical component of immediate relief supplies were solar kits to give people an accessible, stable source of energy.

Additionally, longer-term relief and rebuilding efforts have provided over 4,000 beneficiaries with 178 solar panels and 5 solar powered pumps in villages including Widrarane, Tanamerte, and Agouns to transform energy and water infrastructure and build back stronger.

Outside of earthquake affected areas, HAF is also encouraging many farmers in Morocco to use solar-powered water pumps to irrigate their trees and sapling. When communities receive solar panels, they also receive training on how to maintain the panels and handle the tools and equipment needed for maintenance.

Story

One community member of the Tanamerte village said:

“Our village…. we were suffering from a lack of clean drinking water, especially in summer. We had to go down to the river for 20 minutes to get clean drinking water, and we had to do this almost every day. But now, with the help of the High Atlas Foundation, we have solar panels that provide electricity to the pump, and we have pipes directly from the spring. Now everyone has access to water.”

In this case, the identification of clean water as a priority by Tanamerte village then enabled the building of renewable energy infrastructure, mainly solar panels, to help communities achieve their goal of clean water in a way that is sustainable.

Going forward

RE will be an important part of HAF’s rebuilding efforts in order to create transformational infrastructure changes that will make communities more resilient in the long-term. RE presents an ideal opportunity to achieve development, water, and agriculture goals in a way that is sustainable for communities to manage long-term.

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