Windmanagda SAWADOGO, University of Augsburg, Germany
Babatunde ABIODUN, University of Augsburg, Germany
Romaric ODOULAMI, University of Augsburg, Germany
Jan BLIEFERNICHT, University of Augsburg, Germany
Harald KUNSTMANN, University of Augsburg, Germany
The global average temperature has increased rapidly since the last few decades, putting the world in a red zone. To reduce the impacts, stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) has been proposed as a quick way to reverse the rising global temperature. However, as this approach would reduce the incoming solar radiation, it could have detrimental impacts on solar energy system, which is the hope of addressing power generation problems in Africa. This study investigates the impact of SAI on photovoltaic power generation in Africa under SSP45 global warming scenario at different warming levels (0oC, 1.0oC and 1.5oC). We analyzed a series of simulations from the Community Earth System Model (version 2; CESM2) for the study. The results show that the model gives credible simulations of solar irradiance, air temperature and photovoltaic power (PVP) over Africa. With SSP45, the simulations project an increase of PVP over southern Africa and along the coastal of West Africa but a decrease elsewhere. The simulations reveal that using SAI to mitigate the impacts of SSP45 induces cooling and dimming, thereby decreasing PVP over whole Africa. Hence, SAI could have a negative impact on future investment into solar energy system in Africa.
Mots clés : Geoengineering|Solar energy|Global warming|Africa
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