Afourer Pumped Storage Station
# Afourer Pumped Storage Station

The Afourer Pumped Storage Station is a pumped storage hydroelectric scheme located in the hills above Afourer of Azilal Province, Morocco. The scheme consists of two power stations with a combined installed capacity of 465 megawatts (624,000 hp). Construction on the project began in 2001 and was complete in 2004. It was funded by the Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development at a cost of US$220 million.

## Design and operation

Water for the scheme is derived from the Aït Ouarda Dam on the El Abid River at 32°06′32″N 06°30′34″W﻿ / ﻿32.10889°N 6.50944°W﻿ / 32.10889; -6.50944﻿ (Aït Ouarda Dam), just downstream of the Bin el Ouidane Dam. Water from the dam is pumped up 600 m (1,969 ft) in elevation via Step 1 to the Upper Afourer Reservoir at 32°10′32″N 06°32′02″W﻿ / ﻿32.17556°N 6.53389°W﻿ / 32.17556; -6.53389﻿ (Upper Afourer Reservoir) which has a capacity of 1,260,000 $m^3$ (1,021 acre⋅ft) and lies at an elevation of 1,280 m (4,199 ft) above sea level. Step 1's power and pumping station contains 2 x 172.5 MW reversible Francis turbines. From the upper reservoir, water can be released back to Step 1 for power generation or released 800 m (2,625 ft) down in elevation to the Lower Afourer Reservoir at 32°12′36″N 06°31′01″W﻿ / ﻿32.21000°N 6.51694°W﻿ / 32.21000; -6.51694﻿ (Lower Afourer Reservoir) which lies at an elevation of 480 m (1,575 ft) and also has a capacity of 1,260,000 $m^3$ (1,021 acre⋅ft). The power station at the lower reservoir, Step 2, contains 2 x 60 megawatts (80,000 hp) reversible Francis turbines From the lower reservoir, water can be pumped back into the upper reservoir or released into a canal near Afourer for use in irrigation.

