Renewable Energy Deposit

By building databases through on-site measurements, team members engage in themes that positively influence the social and economic life of the region and generate new practical and theoretical concepts. The approaches adopted in the long, medium and short term contain elements of analysis and identification to evaluate and develop the solar, wind, biomass and geothermal potential. The main actions take into account the ecological and socio-economic realities of the region and guarantee the sustainable management of existing natural resources:

  • Evaluation of the solar field (treatment, estimation, prediction and mapping)
  • Evaluation of the geothermal field (geothermal gradient, iso-temperature maps ...)
  • Assessment of the biomass deposit (treatment, characterization, classification, estimation, mapping and prediction)


    • UARER Ghardaia radiometric station


    Annual distribution of daily solar energy potential for the Ghardaia region


    Automatic database management software collected at several sites in Algeria (URAER and SKTM data)


    Biomass in the oasis ecosystem


    Database management software (inventory and characterization) of date palm cultivars in the Ghardaia region


    Maps of geothermal potential in Ghardaia: heat flux (10-3 W/m2), geothermal gradient and water temperature of the continental shelf. (From left to right).

    Publications (2013 - 2016)

    1. S. Belaid, A. Mellit, Prediction of daily and mean monthly global solar radiation using support vector machine in an arid climate, Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 118, 15 June 2016, Pages 105–118.
    2. K. Gairaa, A. Khellaf, Y. Messlem, F. Chellali, Estimation of the daily global solar radiation based on Box-Jenkins and ANN models: A combined approach (2016), Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 57, pp. 238-249, Doi : 10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.11
    3. K. Gairaa, F. Chellali, S. Benkaciali, Y. Messlem, K. Abdallah, Daily global solar radiation forecasting over a desert area using NAR neural networks comparison with conventional methods, International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications, ICRERA2015, 567-571(2016), Doi:10.1109/ ICRERA.2015.7418477.
    4. M. Ziani, D. Djafer, F. Chouireb, Classification of Aerosol Types over Ghardaia, Algeria, Based on MODIS Data, International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, Vol 7 (10) : 745-749 ISSN: 2010-0264, 2016.
    5. A. Irbah, J. Borgnino, D. Djafer, L. Damé, P. Keckhut, The solar seeing monitor MISOLFA: a new method to estimate the atmospheric turbulence parameters, Astronomy and Astrophysics, 591, A150, 2016.
    6. M. Guermoui, A. Rabhi, S. Benkaciali, D. Djafer, Daily Global Solar Radiation Modeling Using Multi-Layer Perception (MLP) Neural Networks in Semi-Arid Region, Leonardo Electronic Journal of Practices and Technologies, 15(28), 35:46, 2016.
    7. A. Irbah, M. Meftah, A. Hauchecorne, L. Damé, D. Djafer, How mission requirements affect the observations: case of the PICARD mission. SPIE, conference proceedings, Proc. SPIE 9904, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2016: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 99044G (July 29, 2016); doi:10.1117/12.2232028, 2016.
    8. M. Meftah, T. Corbard, A. Hauchecorne, A. Irbah, P. Boumier, A. Chevalier, W. Schmutz, G. Cessateur, j. F. Morand, C. Renaud, R. Ikhlef,i, J.-F. Hochedez,h, S. Turck-Chi_eze, D. Salabert,f, M. Rouz_e, M. van Ruymbeke, P. Zhu, S. Kholikov, W. Finsterle, S. Koller, D. Pner, C. Conscience, S. Dewitte, L. Damé, D. Djafer, Main Results of the PICARD mission, Proc. SPIE 9904, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2016: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 99040Z (July 29, 2016);doi:10.1117/12.2232027,2016.
    9. A. Irbah, L. Dame, D. Djafer, Geometry of the Sun as seen with HMI (SDO) during cycle 24, International Symposium on Recent Observations and Simulations of the Sun-Earth System III, September 11-16, 2016, Golden Sands, Varna, Bulgaria.
    10. A. Rabehi, M. Amrani, Z. Benamara, B. Akkal, A.H. Kacha, Electrical and photoelectrical characteristics of Au/GaN/GaAs Schottky diode, Optik - International Journal For Light And Electron Optics, 127 (16), 6412-6418.
    11. A. Rabehi, G. Mawloud, D. Djafer, M. Ziani, Radial basis function neural networks model to estimate global solar radiation in semi-arid area, Leonardo Electronic Journal of Practices and Technologies (LEJPT), Issue 27 (July-December), 2015 (14).
    12. R. Yacef, A. Mellit, S. Belaid, Z. Sen, New combined models for estimating daily global solar radiation from measured air temperature in semi-arid climates: application in Ghardaia, Algeria, Energy Conversion and Management 2014; 79:606–15.
    13. S. Benkaciali, K. Gairaa, Modélisation de l’irradiation solaire globale incidente sur un plan incliné, Revue des Energies Renouvelables Vol. 17 N°2 (2014) 245 – 252.
    14. N. Tirichine, A. Benkhelifa, K. Bousdira, Production de biogaz à partir des déjections bovines en milieu aride: cas du M’Zab (Algérie), Revue des Energies Renouvelables Vol. 17 N°3 (2014) 419 – 426.
    15. K. Bousdira, L. Nouri, J. Legrand, The chemical characterization of phoenicicole biomass fuel in Algerian oasis: Deglet Nour and Ghars cultivars case, Energy Fuels, 2014, 28 (12), pp 7483–7493.
    16. M. Ziani, D. Djafer, Atmospheric turbidity study using ground and orbit data. International journal of latest research in science and technology, Volume 3, issue 2: page No.12-18, March – April, 2014.
    17. M. Ziani, D. Djafer, Determination of Turbidity Parameters over Ghardaïa Site Using MODIS, IJME, 2, 1, 2286-5849, 2014.
    18. M. Meftah, J.-F. Hochedez, A. Irbah, A. Hauchecorne, P. Boumier, T. Corbard, S. Turck-Chièze, P. Assus, E. Bertran, P. Bourget, F. Buisson, M. Chaigneau, L. Damé, D. Djafer, C. Dufour, P. Etcheto, P. Ferrero, M. Hersé, J.-P. Marcovici, M. Meissonnier, F. Morand, G. Poiet, J., Y. Prado, C. Renaud, N. Rouanet. PICARD SODISM, a space telescope to study the Sun from the middle ultraviolet to the near infrared, Solar Physics, 289, 3 (2014) 1043-1076.
    19. M. Meftah, A. Hauchecorne, S. M. Crepel, A. Irbah, D. Djafer, J.-F. Hochedez, T. Corbard, S. M. Crepel1, The plate scale of SODISM instrument and the determination of the solar radius at 607.1 nm, Solar Physics, 289, 5 (2014) 1885-1899.
    20. A. Irbah, M. Meftah, A. Hauchecorne, D. Djafer, T. Corbard, M. Bocquier, E. M. Cisse, New space value of the solar oblateness obtained with PICARD, Astrophysical journal, 785:89 (8pp), 2014.
    21. F. Chellali, A. Recioui, M R. Yaiche, H. Bentarzi, A hybrid wind/solar/diesel stand alone system optimisation for remote areas in Algeria, International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology, Volume 5, Numéro 1, Pages 12-24
    22. M. Meftah, T. Corbard, A. Irbah, R. Ikhlef, F. Morand, C. Renaud, A. Hauchecorne, P. Assus, J. Borgnino, B. Chauvineau, M. Crepel, F. Dalaudier, L. Damé, D. Djafer, M. Fodil, P. Lesueur, G. Poiet, M. Rouzé and F. Laclare, Ground-based measurements of the solar diameter during therising phase of solar cycle 24, A&AS, acceted, May, 2014.
    23. M. S. Mecibah, T. E. Boukelia, R. Tahtah, K. Gairaa, Introducing the best model for estimation the monthly mean daily global solar radiation on a horizontal surface (Case study: Algeria) Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews Volume 36, (2014) 194–202
    24. K. Gairaa, Y. Bakelli, A Comparative Study of Some Regression Models to Estimate the Global Solar Radiation on a Horizontal Surface from Sunshine Duration and Meteorological Parameters for Ghardaïa Site, Algeria, ISRN Renewable Energy, Volume 2013, Article ID 754956.
    25. D. Djafer, A. Irbah, Estimation of atmospheric turbidity over Ghardaïa city, Atmospheric Research, 128 (2013) 76–84.
    26. F. Chellali, A. Khellaf, A. Belouchrani, Identification and analysis of wind speed patterns extracted from multi-sensors measurements Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment January 2013, Volume 27, Issue 1, pp 1-9.
    27. A. Recioui, F. Chellali, R. Yaiche, H. Bentarzi, A hybrid wind/solar/Diesel stand alone system optimization for remote areas in Algeria, International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology.
    28. K. Gairaa, Y. Bakelli, Solar Energy Potential Assessment in the Algerian South Area: Case of Ghardaïa Region, Journal of Renewable Energy, Volume 2013, Article ID 496348, 11 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/496348.