Volume 25: Accelerated Energy Innovations and Emerging Technologies

Transition of the African Power System to Renewable Energies – A Case Study Robert Gaugl, Sonja Wogrin, Udo Bachhiesl

Abstract

Africa’s power system faces many challenges: Half of all Africans are without access to electricity, the infrastructure needs investments to strengthen its reliability and lessen the frequent electricity disruptions, adaptation of the system for one of the world’s highest power consumption growth rates and an urge to transition the currently highly fossil-fuel dependent system to renewable energies. Based on a detailed representation of the power system, incorporating the unique technical and economic characteristics of the electric power sector, we model a transition to renewable energies in Africa. An addition of 180.2 GW of wind power and 42.1 GW of PV is necessary to cover the current demand in the modeled countries purely by renewable energy sources.

Keywords renewable energies, load flow, energy system modelling, LEGO, power system, generation expansion