This blog post was first published by VTT, one of the OASES project partners.
Promoting carbon-neutral electrification of Africa by means of satellite data, machine learning and optimisation models
[…]Africa has tremendous potential for using solar resources since up to 40% of the total global solar radiation reaching land areas hits Africa. Furthermore, as the prices of solar and wind power are coming down, Africa could gain major financial and humanitarian benefits from using these carbon-free generation resources. This would improve access to energy, enable clean cooking, provide energy for water desalination – turning seawater into potable water –, enhance industrial opportunities and help Africa grow into an exporter of solar-based green hydrogen.
[…] [The OASES project] is promoting the African energy transition by means of satellite data, machine learning and energy models. Collaborating with African and European partners, VTT is responsible for creating African energy models and developing modelling software. The challenges lie not only in the collection of data but also in making the models accessible to local operators. If the objectives are achieved, the project will provide local researchers with an open-source database and modelling software that can be used for studying and modelling optimised investments in local renewables production, transmission lines and reliability.To put it simply, the basic idea of the project is to identify the existing power and solar installations from satellite data with the help of machine learning; to identify and analyse the ideal locations for future investments; and to use the data as a basis for city-, country- and continent-specific energy system models. This open-source model would then remain accessible to local researchers and other actors.
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