Research on the implementation of West Africa-North Africa grid interconnection using new electricity-water composite transmission technology

Combining the characteristics of the reverse distribution of solar resources and water resources in North Africa, West Africa and the Sahara, this paper proposes the West Africa-North Africa grid interconnection project to realize the optimal configuration of desert solar resources and surrounding water resources, and introduce the water resources of West Africa's Niger River and North Africa's desalinated seawater to improve the living environment and development conditions in the hinterland of the Sahara Desert; build photovoltaic bases along the route to send clean electricity to North Africa and West Africa. This paper studies the transmission channel path, electricity-water composite transmission technology and project scheme, and analyzes the economics of the project and the water supply and demand conditions of the Niger River. The research results show that it is feasible in hydrological characteristics to lead the Niger River water along the power transmission channel that crosses the Sahara Desert, and the new electricity-water composite transmission technology has obvious economic advantages.