Smart renewable electricity portfolios in West Africa

Sebastian Sterl (), Inne Vanderkelen, Celray James Chawanda, Daniel Russo, Robert J. Brecha, Ann Griensven, Nicole P. M. Lipzig and Wim Thiery
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Sebastian Sterl: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Inne Vanderkelen: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Celray James Chawanda: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Daniel Russo: International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
Robert J. Brecha: University of Dayton
Ann Griensven: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Nicole P. M. Lipzig: KU Leuven
Wim Thiery: Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Nature Sustainability, 2020, vol. 3, issue 9, 710-719

Abstract: Abstract The worldwide growth of variable renewable power sources necessitates power system flexibility to safeguard the reliability of electricity supply. Yet today, flexibility is mostly delivered by fossil fuel power plants. Hydropower can be a renewable alternative source of flexibility, but only if operated according to adequate strategies considering hourly-to-decadal and local-to-regional energy and water needs. Here, we present a new model to investigate hydro–solar–wind complementarities across these scales. We demonstrate that smart management of present and future hydropower plants in West Africa can support substantial grid integration of solar and wind power, limiting natural gas consumption while avoiding ecologically harmful hydropower overexploitation. We show that pooling regional resources and planning transmission grid expansion according to spatiotemporal hydro–solar–wind synergies are crucial for optimally exploiting West Africa’s renewable potential. By 2030, renewable electricity in such a regional power pool, with solar and wind contributing about 50%, could be at least 10% cheaper than electricity from natural gas.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-020-0539-0

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