http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/1001 2026-04-23T15:12:10Z http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/1030 Comparative Analysis of Groundwater Recharge Simulated Using Historical Observed and Projected Atmospheric Forcing Data Tiemtore, Amidou This study focuses on a comparative analysis of groundwater recharge over Africa using atmospheric data from the reanalysis dataset originating from GSWP3 project and projections dataset originating from the CORDEX covering the common period from 2006 to 2014. The aim is to understand the reasons for the discrepancies between the recharge estimates obtained from these two types of datasets based on the output of the CLM5 and examine their implications for water resource assessment. The first step in the analysis was to estimate groundwater recharge using reanalysis data and projected data separately. This comparison revealed significant differences between the two sources. In order to better understand the origin of these differences, a study of the components of the water balance was conducted. This showed that precipitation and evapotranspiration are the main determinants of groundwater recharge. The differences observed between the results are therefore largely due to differences in these two hydrological components between the datasets considered. The variability in precipitation can be explained by the intrinsic nature of the data, as it was directly incorporated into the recharge calculation without first being used by CLM5. This characteristic contributes to accentuating the differences between reanalyses and projections. Furthermore, examination of the meteorological variables used as model inputs revealed significant differences between the data from reanalyses and those from climate projections. These discrepancies raise questions about the reliability of reanalysis data and highlight the high degree of uncertainty associated with them. A further analysis of the characteristics of the two datasets also showed that they differ in terms of spatial and temporal resolution. As the model was run without harmonising these resolutions, this methodological difference is likely to be an additional factor explaining the extent of the discrepancies observed. From this study, further recommendations are observed. Firstly, a detailed verification process and validation of the weather atmospheric dataset, to further continue the investigation related to meteorological variables influencing the evapotranspiration, and secondly, to analyse the impact of using the same resolution datasets for the input of the CLM5. A Thesis submitted to the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, the Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny, Cote d’Ivoire, and the Jülich Forschungszentrum in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the International Master Program in Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen / Georesources (Water and Wind) and Technology 2025-09-23T00:00:00Z http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/1029 The role of sustainable energy in East Africa's Economy Growth Case of Kenya, Ethiopia and Burundi Ndiaye, Nar Energy access remains one of the most pressing development challenges in East Africa, where large sections of the population continue to live without reliable electricity. At the same time, the region possesses abundant renewable resources, making the transition to sustainable energy not only an environmental priority but also a critical driver of economic growth. Against this backdrop, this thesis investigates the role of sustainable energy in fostering economic development in East Africa, with particular attention to the contrasting experiences of Kenya, Ethiopia and Burundi.The main objective of the study was to assess whether renewable energy can meet the region’s projected electricity demand while supporting inclusive growth and reducing carbon emissions. To achieve this, the research combined scenario-based modelling of electricity demand and renewable supply with a statistical analysis of the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth. A policy priority index was created to check how well countries national strategies are working to attract investment for energy transition. The results show a strong link between electricity uses per capita and income per capita, meaning that economic growth and energy use go hand in hand. In Kenya, a mix of geothermal, solar, wind and hydropower investments show that good planning helps increase energy access and supports growth. Ethiopia relies heavily on its huge hydropower resources which highlights the need for big projects but also the risk of depending too much on one energy type.Burundi continues to struggle because of weak policies and low investment, which creates big gaps between supply and demand. The study shows that East Africa has enough renewable energy to cover future needs, but this will only be possible if countries invest more and put strong policies in place. The results also suggest that the region can keep growing its economy without increasing carbon emissions, as long as renewable energy remains a top priority. In short, this thesis demonstrates that renewable energy is not only good for the environment but also essential for building strong and fair economic growth in East Africa. To achieve this, countries will need good policies, solid investments plan, and strong cooperation between countries will be crucial to making renewable energy the foundation of the region’s future economy. A Thesis submitted to the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, the Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny, Cote d’Ivoire, and the Jülich Forschungszentrum in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the International Master Program in Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen / Georesources (Water and Wind) and Technology 2025-09-25T00:00:00Z http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/1028 The Role of Sustainable Energy on West African Economic Growth: Case study:Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal Kamite, Mahamadou In the context of climate change and fossil fuel depletion, west Africa must reconcile its growing energy demand with environmental sustainability. This study assesses the role of renewable energy in supporting long-term economic growth and reducing CO₂ emissions in Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal. The datas for this research was collected from world bank, scientific papers and some international websites. A quantitative scenario-based approach was applied, combining population and GDP projection (2024-2050) with a global regression model linking historical GDP per capita to historical electricity consumption per capita (2011-2024). Future electricity demand was estimated under pessimistic, medium, and optimistic growth scenarios and compared to the technically exploitable potential of solar, wind, and hydropower in each country. Results indicated that Mali and Senegal possess renewable energy potentials far exceeding future demand, enabling full decarbonization by 2050 under all scenarios. In contrast, Côte d'Ivoire’s exploitable renewable potential can cover only 60% of the projected 2050 needs in medium scenario and 33% for optimistic scenario, requiring complementary solutions such as biomass, storage and regional interconnections. Renewable energy transition plans were modelled for each country, progressively replacing fossil fuels with optimal mixes of solar, wind and hydro. CO₂ avoidance calculations show substantial mitigation potential: up to 61 million tons avoided in Mali,54 million in Senegal, and 17 million in Côte d’Ivoire by 2050. The findings confirm that renewable energy can simultaneously enhance energy security, foster economic growth, and reduce emissions in west Africa, provided that public policies priorities infrastructure investment and regional energy cooperation. A Thesis submitted to the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, the Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny, Cote d’Ivoire, and the Jülich Forschungszentrum in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the International Master Program in Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen / Georesources (Water and Wind) and Technology 2025-09-23T00:00:00Z http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/1027 Variability across Climate Model Simulations of future wind regimes in West Africa Kouadio, Kouassi Hervé Reliable wind assessments are essential for energy planning in West Africa, where demand is increasing and decarbonisation targets are becoming more stringent. The purpose of this study is to evaluate both the credibility and the variability of global climate models simulations for wind regimes in West Africa dividided into five sub-regions (Atlantic coastal, southern coastal, sub-Saharan, Sahel, and Sahara), using ERA5 reanalysis as a benchmark for evaluating model performance as well as projecting future regimes under climate scenarios for better energy planning and relevance policy informed decision making. First, the past-to present climatological analysis with the ERA5 wind speed data for the period 1950-2024 show that the Atlantic coastal region and the Saharan have strongest and moderate mean wind speed respectively above 3 m/s or around. While most of the Sahelian, sub-Saharan and southern coastal regions show low mean wind speeds between 1-3 m/s. Secondly the long-term wind speed anomalies shows positive and negative values, with |anomaly| ≥ 0.2 m/s across all subregions, except the sub-Saharan region where anomalies fall below 0.2 m/s in absolute value. Futhermore, findings present a relatively low or almost no trend over the study period. The resuluts of seasonal variability and extremes events across the sub-regions show that high wind speeds occur in DJF, MAM for the Atlantic coastal region, in JJA for Southern Coastal and sub-Subsahara, in DJF for Sahelian and Sahara. Four CMIP6 models (MIROC6, HadGEM3-GC3, CESM2-WACCM, MPI-ESM1-2HR) were used for historical wind speed projections.The historical projections show a robust coastal-inland gradient across models with observed individual biaises: the highest mean winds are found on the Atlantic coast and the Saharan fringe, the lowest in the sub-Saharan belt and variability increases inland. The models were compared to ERA5 and the statistically best performing model MPI-ESM1-2LR (mean bias = +0.07m/s, MAE = 0.41m/s; RMSE = 0.52m/s, r = 0.90; R² = 0.78 ) was used for the 2025-2075 projections under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 considering DJF and JJA seasons. The future projections conserve the historical gradient but present a generalised weakening inland, weaker and more irregular in the SSP2-4.5 scenario and more widespread in the SSP5-8.5 scenario, particularly during the JJA period in the southern coastal, sub-Saharan and Sahelian areas; the Atlantic coastal corridor remains relatively robust, while the Sahara shows mixed seasonal changes. These results imply that for better regional energy planning we should prioritise grid-connected coastal and offshore projects, combine wind energy from the south coast with photovoltaic energy and storage to address seasonal variability, adopt hybrid strategies and targeted micro-deployment inland, and take into account transport and maintenance constraints for Saharan options A Thesis submitted to the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, the Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny, Cote d’Ivoire, and the Jülich Forschungszentrum in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the International Master Program in Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen / Georesources (Water and Wind) and Technology 2025-09-25T00:00:00Z