African Continental Study
Context
The African Continental Study has implemented the Mopo tools within the framework of the OASES project, co-funded by the Third Health Programme of the European Union, aiming to develop methodological knowledge, provide a detailed analysis of the various issues causing medical deserts, and propose possible solutions.
The twofold aim of the African Continental Study: it explores how the continent’s electricity system would evolve if the increase in demand until 2030 were met exclusively through renewable investments; it serves as a proof of concept for transferring energy system model data between tools. The PyPSA*-earth is the input data pipeline, creating a PyPSA model that has been subsequently transformed into an IRENA FlexTool model using INES-tools. The model encompasses nearly every country in Africa and allows for investments in renewable sources and cross-country connections. The case study focuses on trends and the effects of interconnections between countries rather than on individual national systems.
This is an external use case of Mopo tools implementation.
*Python for Power System Analysis
Scope
It covers the African continent, analysing electricity system evolution, renewable integration, and cross-country interconnections.
Workflow
Scenarios
The study included two scenarios:
- Scenario 1 took the existing production and connection capacities and studied how the system would behave if the demand was increased to the predicted 2030 levels and the only allowed capacity increases were with the renewable energy sources and storage technologies.
- Scenario 2 extended this by allowing the increase of interconnection capacities to see how the co-operation of the countries would benefit the system.
| Scenario | Description | Capacity Expansion Allowed | Focus/Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scenario 1 | Takes existing production and interconnection capacities and analyses system behaviour when demand increases to projected 2030 levels. | Only renewable energy sources (RES) and storage technologies can expand. No increase in interconnection capacity. | Understand how the system manages higher demand relying solely on new RES and storage. |
| Scenario 2 | Builds on Scenario 1 but allows additional interconnection capacity between countries. | Renewable energy source, storage technologies, and interconnection capacities can expand. | Assess the benefits of cross-country co-operation and improved grid connectivity. |
Results and conclusions
The PyPSA-earth model is successfully converted into an IRENA FlexTool model using INES-tools – that is, all the data and structure from PyPSA-earth were translated into the FlexTool format so that the same system could be analyzed with the FlexTool’s specific features. The new model is run directly, requiring only minor adjustments due to the underlying data. By 2030, the continental electricity system is expected to be dominated by solar power, producing 42% of the total electricity. Solar capacity is so high that during the day it can generate more electricity than needed. Wind energy also contributes significantly, providing 15% of the production.
With this large share of solar power, storage solutions become essential to balance the variability of production. Investments are planned in both batteries and hydrogen: batteries help manage daily fluctuations in solar output, while hydrogen serves both daily and seasonal storage needs.
Cross-country interconnections are also crucial: 23–28% of electricity is transferred between countries, depending on whether additional investments in these connections are allowed. This demonstrates the clear benefits of cooperation between countries.