Potential impact of climate change on solar resource in Africa for photovoltaic energy

Analyses from Cordex-Africa climate experiments

Bibliographic Data

ID15544740
AuthorsAdéline Bichet (0000-0003-1409-1620, Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement, corresponding author), Benoît Hingray (0000-0001-6991-0975, Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement), Guillaume Évin (0000-0003-3456-9441, Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire de Grenoble), Arona Diédhiou (0000-0003-3841-1027, Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement), Cheikh Mouhamed Fadel Kébé (0009-0000-4121-5751, Cheikh Anta Diop University), Sandrine Anquetin (0000-0001-5127-1650, Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement)
Year2019
Volume14
Issue12
Pages124039-124039
Publication date2019-10-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironmental Research Letters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326
PublisherIOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1088/1748-9326/ab500a
OpenAlexW2981771441
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited38

The development of renewable electricity in Africa could be massive in coming decades, as a response to the rapid rising electricity demand while complying with the Paris Agreements. This study shows that in the high-resolution climate experiments of CORDEX-AFRICA, the annual mean solar potential is expected to decrease on average by 4% over most of the continent by the end of the century, reaching up to 6% over the Horn of Africa, as a direct result of decrease in solar radiation and increase in air surface temperature. These projections are associated with large uncertainties, in particular over the Sahel and the elevated terrains of eastern Africa. While the expected decrease may affect the sizing of the numerous solar projects planned in Africa for the next decades, this study suggests that it does not endanger their viability. At last, this study indicates that the design of such projects also needs to account for the non-negligible uncertainties associated with the resource

Climate change · Climate model · Climatology · Economics · Electricity · Geography · Natural resource economics · Photovoltaic system · Renewable energy · Resource (disambiguation · Solar energy · Solar Resource · Engineering · Environmental Science · Photovoltaic System Optimization Techniques · Solar Radiation and Photovoltaics · Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Systems · Ecology

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access