Quantifying Africa’s offshore wind energy potential using Multi-Criteria Decision Assessment

Abstract

Global wind energy electrical power generation is expanding exponentially. It is a fundamental building block for decarbonising the energy supply to achieve net-zero carbon targets, as well as the sustainable development goals. Hence, quantifying the power generation from wind resources is of global interest. This research addresses the latter, focusing on the offshore wind potential for the African continent. A methodology based on the representative cost ratio (RCR) combined with fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making analysis, using appropriately selected criteria (wind speed, water depth, proximity to grid, etc), was used to arrive at the potential for offshore wind in Africa. The method was validated by predicting the large offshore wind development in China and the UK. The most suitable locations for offshore wind energy around Africa were identified. The results showed that the shallow water offshore wind potential is limited (∼85 GW), restricting it to the use of depth-restrained seabed-fixed turbines. At greater depths, the wind resource can result in over 6665 GW of installed capacity, promoting exploitation through floating offshore wind turbine technologies. Such a continental-scale deployment will address energy access, create growth and employment, whilst reducing Africa’s dependence on fossil fuel imports.

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