Abstract:
Economic development is based on a reliable and
cost effective energy supply. To sustain their economic growth,
emerging countries need a dependable Distributed Generation
(DG). DG is an efficient way to reach energy security by
minimizing power losses in long and aging transmission lines.
Due to the inherent complexity of electricity systems, this paper
proposes to use a System Dynamics (SD) modelling approach to
investigate the links between electricity supply and demand,
population growth, and real climatic parameters in Niamey,
Niger. Some of the variables utilized in this study were the local
solar radiation and wind speed. Results proved that: (1) the
current population will double in the horizon 2036 under the
actual birth and death rates; (2) the highest summer electricity
demand in the year 2015 was 217 MW; (3) electricity supply can
be far higher than demand by implementing a 50 MW Renewable
Energy Sources (RES) in conjunction with a 10 MW Energy
Storage System (ESS); and (4) through a sensitive analysis,
Niamey and neighboring vicinity would reach energy
independence from 2017 to 2055, and even beyond.
