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Linking solar and wind power in eastern Africa with operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Author

Listed:
  • Sebastian Sterl

    (Vrije Universiteit Brussel
    KU Leuven
    University of Bonn
    International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA))

  • Dalia Fadly

    (KU Leuven)

  • Stefan Liersch

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Leibniz Association)

  • Hagen Koch

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Leibniz Association)

  • Wim Thiery

    (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

Abstract

Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt are currently embroiled in a politically charged conflict that surrounds the soon-to-be-completed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), with Ethiopia’s energy objectives purportedly conflicting with the water needs in Sudan and Egypt. Here we show that the multiple political and environmental challenges that surround GERD could be mitigated by explicitly coupling its operation to variable solar and wind power, which would create an incentive for Ethiopia to retain a seasonality in the Blue Nile flow. We found that this could deliver fivefold benefits across the three countries: decarbonizing power generation in the Eastern Africa Power Pool; allowing compliance with Sudan’s environmental flow needs; optimizing GERD’s infrastructure use; harmonizing the yearly refilling schedules of GERD and Egypt’s High Aswan Dam; and supporting a strong diversification of Ethiopian power generation for domestic use and for Eastern Africa Power Pool exports. These results argue for an explicit integration of complementary hydro, solar and wind power strategies in GERD operation and Eastern Africa Power Pool expansion planning.

Suggested Citation

  • Sebastian Sterl & Dalia Fadly & Stefan Liersch & Hagen Koch & Wim Thiery, 2021. "Linking solar and wind power in eastern Africa with operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(4), pages 407-418, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:6:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1038_s41560-021-00799-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41560-021-00799-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Denis Juma & Josiah Munda & Charles Kabiri, 2023. "Power-System Flexibility: A Necessary Complement to Variable Renewable Energy Optimal Capacity Configuration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-24, November.
    2. Xu, Shitian & Liu, Pan & Li, Xiao & Cheng, Qian & Liu, Zheyuan, 2023. "Deriving long-term operating rules of the hydro-wind-PV hybrid energy system considering electricity price," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
    3. Cheng, Qian & Liu, Pan & Xia, Jun & Ming, Bo & Cheng, Lei & Chen, Jie & Xie, Kang & Liu, Zheyuan & Li, Xiao, 2022. "Contribution of complementary operation in adapting to climate change impacts on a large-scale wind–solar–hydro system: A case study in the Yalong River Basin, China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 325(C).
    4. Jiang, Haiyang & Du, Ershun & He, Boyu & Zhang, Ning & Wang, Peng & Li, Fuqiang & Ji, Jie, 2023. "Analysis and modeling of seasonal characteristics of renewable energy generation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
    5. Vivien Foster & Philipp A. Trotter & Sven Werner & Melin Niedermayer & Yacob Mulugetta & Ploy Achakulwisut & Aoife Brophy & Navroz K. Dubash & Sam Fankhauser & Adam Hawkes & Stephanie Hirmer & Stuart , 2024. "Development transitions for fossil fuel-producing low and lower–middle income countries in a carbon-constrained world," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 9(3), pages 242-250, March.
    6. Jose M. Gonzalez & James E. Tomlinson & Eduardo A. Martínez Ceseña & Mohammed Basheer & Emmanuel Obuobie & Philip T. Padi & Salifu Addo & Rasheed Baisie & Mikiyas Etichia & Anthony Hurford & Andrea Bo, 2023. "Designing diversified renewable energy systems to balance multisector performance," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(4), pages 415-427, April.
    7. ElSayed, Mai & Aghahosseini, Arman & Breyer, Christian, 2023. "High cost of slow energy transitions for emerging countries: On the case of Egypt's pathway options," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 107-126.
    8. Han, Zhixin & Fang, Debin & Yang, Peiwen & Lei, Leyao, 2023. "Cooperative mechanisms for multi-energy complementarity in the electricity spot market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PB).
    9. Cheng, Qian & Liu, Pan & Feng, Maoyuan & Cheng, Lei & Ming, Bo & Luo, Xinran & Liu, Weibo & Xu, Weifeng & Huang, Kangdi & Xia, Jun, 2023. "Complementary operation with wind and photovoltaic power induces the decrease in hydropower efficiency," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 339(C).

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