An all-Africa dataset of energy model “supply regions” for solar photovoltaic and wind power

S. Sterl, B. Hussain, A. Miketa, Y. Li, B. Merven, M.B. Ben Ticha, M.A.E. Elabbas, W. Thiery, D. Russo

Scientific data Vol. 9, pp. 664-1 - 664-12

Summary:

With solar and wind power generation reaching unprecedented growth rates globally, much research effort has recently gone into a comprehensive mapping of the worldwide potential of these variable renewable electricity (VRE) sources. From a perspective of energy systems analysis, the locations with the strongest resources may not necessarily be the best candidates for investment in new power plants, since the distance from existing grid and road infrastructures and the temporal variability of power generation also matter. To inform energy planning and policymaking, cost-optimisation models for energy systems must be fed with adequate data on potential sites for VRE plants, including costs reflective of resource strength, grid expansion needs and full hourly generation profiles. Such data, tailored to energy system models, has been lacking up to now. In this study, we present a new open-source and open-access all-Africa dataset of “supply regions” for solar photovoltaic and onshore wind power to feed energy models and inform capacity expansion planning.

Spanish layman's summary:

El documento proporciona un conjunto de datos de código abierto y acceso abierto para el potencial de la energía solar y eólica en todos los países africanos. Discute la compensación entre recursos fuertes y baratos y lo que es óptimo para la planificación energética a largo plazo para informar la formulación de políticas sobre modelos de optimización de costos para sistemas energéticos.

English layman's summary:

The paper provides an open-source and open-access dataset for the potential of solar and wind in all African countries. It discusses the trade-off between strong and cheap resources and what is optimal for long-term energy planning to inform policymaking on cost-optimisation models for energy systems.

Keywords: Energy planning; Cost-optimization models; Supply regions; Variable renewable energy; Africa

JCR Impact Factor and WoS quartile: 9,800 - Q1 (2022); 5,800 - Q1 (2023)

DOI reference: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01786-5

Published on paper: December 2022.

Published on-line: October 2022.

Citation:
S. Sterl, B. Hussain, A. Miketa, Y. Li, B. Merven, M.B. Ben Ticha, M.A.E. Elabbas, W. Thiery, D. Russo, An all-Africa dataset of energy model “supply regions” for solar photovoltaic and wind power. Scientific data. Vol. 9, pp. 664-1 - 664-12, December 2022. [Online: October 2022]