Evaluation Of The Cost Of The Energy Mix Of The West African Power Pool Interconnected Network By 2032

Abstract

Matching electricity supply and demand in the countries of West Africa is a key issue for the energy independence of the sub-region. To this end, the West African Power Pool has drawn up a master plan which includes a supply forecast for 2032.  This electricity production forecast, which includes 20% of intermittent renewable energies, shows that there will be an overproduction of energy if all the forecast projects are implemented. This will result in very high net energy costs for the population. This calls for rigorous scientific work to balance supply and demand in the long term, in order to avoid the disadvantages associated with overproduction. The objective of this work is to make use of heuristic methods, in particular the combination of Taboo and Cuckoo research, to determine the optimal energy mix at peak times of the day and night.  The results showed that at the daytime point, the optimal mix for the interconnected network of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is made up of 81.5% solar and wind power and 18.5% hydropower. The night-time peak is dominated by hydroelectricity (88%), followed by wind power, biomass and gas. The annual energy mix is distributed between hydroelectricity (70.7%), solar PV (19.7%), wind (4.1%), gas (5.1%) and biomass. We note a reduction in the proportion of gas by more than 60% compared with 2022. The average cost to 2032 is $86.83/MWh.