Building resilient power systems in Africa: Adapting to climate extremes and energy transition challenges

The transition towards renewable energy sources presents resilience challenges to power systems, especially during climate extremes such as Dunkelflauten (prolonged periods of low wind and solar power), hydrological droughts and heatwaves. For Africa, energy transition planning is underexplored, including the potential impact of climate change on future power systems. We will analyse the impact of various climate extremes on electricity generation, demand, transmission and distribution across different spatiotemporal scales. By examining historical climate extremes and potential future ones under climate change, including compound events, we will assess the possible consequences and adaptive measures for power systems. The research will focus on identifying key characteristics of climate extremes such as frequency, intensity, extent, and duration across diverse regions and periods, and how these translate into consequences for power systems, with a specific focus on case studies for African countries. The research intends to form the foundation for proposing adaptations to power system models to make them more "climate extremes-aware", while advocating for inclusive and open-source modelling approaches to ensure accessibility, collaboration, and relevance across diverse regions and stakeholders.