EO Supporting Climate Vulnerability and Energy Resilience in Niger

The GDA Clean Energy consortium, in collaboration with the World Bank, addressed the lack of reliable flood data in Niger by introducing advanced Earth Observation (EO) solutions to assess the vulnerability of energy infrastructure to severe flooding, particularly in Niamey. Recognising that existing data sources failed to reflect the real extent of flood events, the GDA conducted regional-scale flash flood modelling simulating a 100-year event (HQ100) and integrated this with national transmission and distribution grid data, as well as open datasets like Sentinel-2 imagery, terrain, and land use data. This effort enabled the classification of energy assets—such as transmission lines and towers—by their exposure levels and construction characteristics, offering a detailed understanding of their vulnerability. The resulting tool now supports World Bank projects like the Electricity Access Expansion Project (NElAcEP) and the Niger Accelerating Electricity Access Project (Haské), helping stakeholders to better plan, dimension, and finance infrastructure development and reinforcement. By linking EO-derived exposure insights to individual energy assets, the work has enhanced strategic investment decisions, informed maintenance planning, and provided a geospatial foundation for long-term climate resilience in Niger’s energy sector.

You can read more about this Case Study here: EO solutions in support to climate vulnerability in Niger