SOLAR PROJECT

CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
Solar radiation represents the largest energy flow entering the terrestrial ecosystem. After

reflection and absorption in the atmosphere, some 100,000TW hit the surface of Earth and

undergo conversion to all forms of energy used by humans, with the exception of nuclear,

geothermal, and tidal energy. This resource is enormous and corresponds to almost 6,000 fold

the current global consumption of primary energy 13.7 TW (Shafey, 1990). Thus, solar energy

has the potential of becoming a major component of a sustainable energy portfolio with

constrained greenhouse gas emissions.

During the last decades, countries and companies are interested and investing in solar energy.

This kind of energy is abundant; however, it represents a low percentage comparing to the

current energy mix. The planet Earth can provide in only 90 minutes the needed sunlight that can

be used during a whole year (IEA, 2004). Hence, the field of the solar energy is growing very

fast improving with it a lot of technologies. Solar Photovoltaic Panels (PV’s) are the first thing

that can come to people’s mind while talking about solar energy. This technology is famous

because it is extremely modular, easy to install, and accessible (Aladdin, 2017). This project will

be a study of using PV’s to power Nigeria Port Authority (NPA).

The current cost of solar technologies and their intermittent nature make them hardly competitive

on an energy market still dominated by cheap fossil fuels. From a scientific and technological

viewpoint, the great challenge is finding new solutions for solar energy systems to become less

capital intensive and more efficient. PV’s technology will advance in undeveloped nations like

Nigeria as the world is a global sphere for importing technologies (Andrews et al, 2013).
According to Kolhe et al (2015) Solar technology is on the whole more versatile and adaptable to

utilize for off grid and unstable grid territories, e.g. regionalized energy to ports, isle, towns,

residence, hospitals, water pump stations etc. Renewable energy projects are in general spent

within the territory, which means our investment stays at home to generate revenue and improve

our economy, rather than importing fossil fuel from abroad.

Solar thermal technologies are reaching a mature stage of development and have the potential of

becoming competitive for large energy supply. Intermittency is being addressed with extended

research efforts in energy storage devices, such as batteries and other electric storage systems,

thermal storage, and the direct production of solar fuels (typically hydrogen). All these are

valuable routes for enhancing the competitiveness and performance of solar technologies. This

research effort is geared toward addressing the problem of implementing Low-cost and high-

efficiency photovoltaic device for powering NPA.

1.1 Statement of Problem

Worldwide as well as Nigeria, the energy sector is one of the major reasons of climate change

especially with the use of fossil fuel. As a result, in order to guarantee the development of a more

sustainable and a functional planet we need to transform all our energy into a cleaner one to

promote a future power-driven by a full renewable energy (Keshner and Arya, 2004). Thus,

investing in renewable energy is beneficial for the local economy since Nigeria is experiencing a

considerable evolution in electricity demand.

Besides, Nigeria is extremely depending on petroleum, which means that Nigeria has a low

dependency on the renewable energy sector. Hence, the deployment of Solar Power will help

Nigeria to have diversified energy sources, which will contribute to the growth of NPA economy

and stability (Brabec et al, 2005). Therefore, promoting renewable energy can suggest a lot of
paybacks for the local economy in Nigeria since the infrastructure investments are localized and

the revenue stays related to the regional domain (Shaheen et al, 2005). The challenge of this

project is to power NPA with PV solar panels that are efficient and compare its cost with that of

electricity bills supplied to NPA before doing this, this project will take into account numerous

important factors such as the angle of inclination, the type of the inverters used, and the number

of series and parallel connection of the Solar Power Plant (SPP).

1.3 Aim and Objectives of Research

As it has been mentioned earlier, the aim of this research is to study the use of PV’s to power

NPA Port Harcourt that is a government agency. In terms of efficiency and savings, the detailed

objectives of the project are the following:

i. Evaluate solar rays from sunshine duration data in Rivers State, Nigeria.

ii. Determine the power audit on NPA, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

iii. Determine the number of PV panels/arrays, battery, other components and its cost

analysis to power NPA.

iv. Carry out comparative analysis between SPP and NPA electrical bill is calculated

1.4 Scope of Study

This work covers the study of Solar PV, batteries, inverters, and Electric bill. Electrical Power

System Analysis Software (ETAP) is used to ascertain the number of parallels and series

arrangement of the solar power system to produce the needed power while Mathematical

laboratory (MATLAB) software is used to run the comparative analysis of SPP and electrical

bills of NPA, Port Harcourt. The panel cost, battery and inverter cost of the SPP is used in

carrying out a comparative analysis with the electrical bill and graphs showing their breakeven

point and total running cost will be generated and analyzed. It has become crucial for NPA to
implement a pioneering sustainable power supply with a correlated design which will reduce cost

of its operation.

1.5 Significance of the Study

According to Alrikabi (2014), about 8 million metric tons of CO2 is emitted as result of the use of

fossil fuels consistently. Around 126 billion naira (which is equal to US$ 984.38 million) deficit

in revenue is caused by power failure annually as reported by The Council for Renewable

Energy of Nigeria. Apart from the huge revenue deficit, (which could have been avoided by

using an alternative source of energy) in addition constant exposure of CO2 emitted as a result of

‘terrace generator’ brings about environmental and health hazards (Oyedepo, 2012).

As a result of unavailable means of an alternative power supply, that is used in NPA it is

confined to heavy reliance on generators for their official work and this generate a high running

cost the agency. If considered, this project will have an impact on NPA. For instance, it will

improve energy efficiency of NPA; it will boost NPA revenue and eradicate down time caused

by the epileptic power supply that is plaguing the country.

 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Literature Review

Solar radiation is an electromagnetic wave emitted by the Sun’s surface that originates in the

bulk of the Sun where fusion reactions convert hydrogen atoms into helium. Every second

3.89*1026J of nuclear energy is released by the Sun’s core. This nuclear energy flux is rapidly

converted into thermal energy and transported toward the surface of the star where it is released

in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The power density emitted by the Sun is of the order of

64MW/m2 of which ~1370W/m2 reach the top of the Earth’s atmosphere with no significant

absorption in the space. The latter quantity is called the solar constant (Smil, 2004).

The spectral range of the solar radiation is very large and encompasses nanometric wavelengths

of gamma- and x-rays through metric wavelengths of radio waves. The energy flux is divided

unevenly among the three large spectral categories. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation (λ<400nm)

accounts for less than 9% of the total; visible light (VIS) (400nm<λ<700nm) for 39%; and

infrared (IR) for about 52%.

Radiation reaching the Earth’s surface is altered by a number of factors, namely the inclination

of the Earth’s axis and the atmosphere that causes both absorption and reflection of part of the

incoming radiation. The influence of all these elements on solar radiation is visible in the

ground-level spectrum, where the light absorption by the molecular elements of the atmosphere

is particularly evident. Accounting for absorption by the atmosphere, reflection from cloud tops,

oceans, and terrestrial surfaces, and rotation of the Earth (day/night cycles). The annual mean of

solar radiation reaching the surface is 170W/m2 for the oceans and 180W/m2 for the continents.

Of this, about 75% is direct light, the balance of which is scattered by air molecules, water vapor,

aerosols, and clouds (Shaheen et al, 2005).

Fig 2.1 illustrates the flow of the work potential, or exergy, of the solar energy into the

atmosphere and the terrestrial ecosystem. This quantity represents the upper limit to the work

obtainable from solar radiation conversion, a limit that is imposed by the 2nd law of

thermodynamics and is independent of any conceptual device.

The 162PW of solar radiation reaching the Earth, 86PW hit its surface in the form of direct

(75%) and diffused light (25%). The energy quality of diffused radiation is lower (75.2% of

exergy content instead of 93.2% for direct light (Shafey and Ismail, 1990), with consequences on

the amount of work that can be extracted from it. 38PW hit the continents and a total exergy of

0.01TW is estimated to be destroyed during the collection and use of solar radiation for energy

services. This estimation includes the use of photovoltaics and solar thermal plants for the

production of electricity and hot water. Similar estimates are shown for wind energy (0.06TW),

ocean thermal gradient (not yet exploited for energy production), and hydroelectric energy

0.36TW (Hermann, 2006).

Fig 2.1 Solar radiation exergy flow diagram (units in TW).

The market share of solar energy is still low. Current electricity generation from PVs is only of

the order of 2.6GW3 compared to 36.3GW for all renewable energies, hydroelectric power

excluded (IEA, 2005). Developed countries are steadily increasing their investments in solar

power plants, and IEA projections for 2030 give an enhancement of solar electricity generation
up to 13.6GW (80% of which will be from photovoltaics, and the rest (2.4GW) from solar

thermal plants). However, this amount will not exceed 6% of the total electricity production from

non-hydro renewable energies as shown in Fig 2.2. It is worth noting that passive solar

technologies for water heating, not included in these statistics, represent a fairly large amount of

power. IEA estimates a power production of 5.3GW in 2002 and an increase up to 46GW by

2030 (IEA, 2005).

Fig 2.2 Current and projected non-hydro renewable electricity production for 2030 (in GW)

2.1 Cost of electricity

The higher capital cost of PV technologies compared to fossil fuels is a major barrier to large-

scale deployment of solar energy. Today’s price of electricity from solar energy, as reported by

the IEA, ranges from $0.35/kWh to $0.60/kWh for solar PV and from $0.085/kWh to

$0.135/kWh for solar thermal, compared to $0.045/kWh - $0.055/kWh for wind and $0.040/kWh

for natural gas. This cost range of solar energy is due to differences in the local isolation and to

the estimation of the Balance Of System (BOS) cost relative to specific applications (namely

stand-alone or grid-connected, ground-mounted or rooftop systems).

The price of the active material, the manufacturing, and the BOS components are the main

elements determining the total price of PV technologies. Since the 1970’s research has been

exploring new processes for producing low-cost wafer silicon (both single crystal silicon, sc-Si,

and polycrystalline silicon, pc-Si), and the use of low-cost materials for thin-film PV

applications, such as amorphous silicon (α-Si), III-V compounds, CIGS, cadmium telluride

(CdTe), and more recently organic materials. The efficiency of thin-film laboratory cells has

increased steadily in the last 20 years (see Fig 2.3) and these technologies are believed to have

the potential of bringing down the cost of solar energy to $0.03/kWh - $0.05/kWh (Zweibel,

2004).

Manufacturing scale is another key requirement for decreasing the cost of solar technologies

since large-scale production lowers the cost of active materials and production. This is

demonstrated by the price drop that silicon PV modules experienced since the early 1980’s

following a progress ratio of 77% with cumulative production growing from 10MW to more than

1GW in 2000 (Parente et al, 2002). If the trend continues, the price of $1/W (~ $0.06/kWh) will

be reached when the cumulative production reaches 100GW, which in return will push further

the deployment of solar energy systems (Fthenakis and Lee, 1998).

Keshner and Arya (2004) suggested that price can reach an entirely through manufacturing scale,

without the need for any significant new invention. However, more research and development

will increase competitiveness of solar technologies. Design and technological innovations could

also decrease the cost of BOS components, and in particular of energy storage systems that

represent a major fraction of the total installation cost of systems where storage is required (up to

70-80% with batteries accounting for 30-40% (Hegedus and Luque, 2003). Such research efforts

exist in the field of thermal storage associated with solar thermal technologies (in particular
central receivers and parabolic troughs) and on new PV technologies with built-in storage

systems, such as the dye-sensitized-cell based photocapacitors developed at Toin University in

Yokohama (Miyasaka and Murakami, 2004). Additionally, cell stability and low-cost

encapsulation processes have also to be improved to maximize the lifetime of PV panels, with an

incisive impact on system cost. Organic-based photovoltaics (OPVs) are an alternative to

present-day p-n junction photovoltaic devices for reducing the cost of solar energy. They can be

deposited on lightweight, flexible and low-cost plastic substrates and thus have the potential to

drop the manufacturing and installation cost by 10 to 20 fold.

The manufacturing cost for OPVs can be very low using large-throughput roll-to-roll

manufacturing technology enabled with printable semiconductors and low-cost materials such as

plastic substrates and polymer alternatives to Transparent Conducting Oxide (TCO) electrodes.

Concerning BOS costs, packaging will remain a major concern due to the sensitivity of organic

materials to oxygen and water vapor. Cost projections for electricity from organic photovoltaics

based on the use of printing techniques and decrease of material cost with scaleup, are

significantly below $1/W (Brabec et al, 2005).

 Fig 2.3 Progress in photovoltaic cell efficiencies

Over the past 30 years, solar cell efficiencies have continuously improved for all technologies

(Green et al, 2006). Research on desensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and organic solar cells (OSCs)

began only during the last decade (Xue et al, 2004). Despite the notable progress made in the

improvement of the efficiencies of all these technologies, achieved values are still far from the

thermodynamic efficiency limits of ~31% for single junctions, 50% for 3-cell stacks, impurity

PVs, or up- and down converters, and 54-68% for hot carrier- or impact ionization-based devices

(Green, 2003). Furthermore, the efficiencies of commercial (or even the best prototype) modules

are only about 50% to 65% of these “champion” cells (Green et al, 2006).

The solar-to-electric efficiency of solar thermal technologies varies largely depending upon the

solar flux concentration factor, the temperature of the thermal intermediary, and the efficiency of

the thermal cycle for the production of mechanical work and electricity. Parabolic troughs and

power towers reach peak efficiencies of about 20%. Dish-Stirling systems are the most efficient,
with ~30% solar-to-electric demonstrated efficiency. The performance of these systems is highly

influenced by the plant availability. In the case of parabolic troughs and power towers, thermal

storage increases the annual capacity factor from typically 20% to 50% and 75%, respectively

(King, 2005).

2.2 Environmental Aspects of Solar Energy

Solar energy is promoted as a sustainable energy supply technology because of the renewable

nature of solar radiation and the ability of solar energy conversion systems to generate

greenhouse gas-free electricity during their lifetime. However, the energy requirement and the

environmental impact of PV module manufacture can be further reduced, even though recent

analysis of the energy and carbon cycles for PV technologies recognized that strong

improvements were made both in terms of energy and carbon paybacks (Xue et al, 2004).

2.3 Energy payback

Energy payback calculations are not straightforward because today’s PV industry usually

recrystallizes silicon recycled from the semiconductor industry. Calculations reported in 2000 by

Alsema give estimates of the life-cycle energy requirement embodied in, respectively, frameless

sc-Si and pc-Si PV modules of 1580kWh/m2 (11.4kWh/W) and 1170kWh/m2 (8.8kWh/W). By

2010 the requirement of electric energy for these PV technologies is forecasted to decrease to

890kWh/m2 (5.6kWh/W) and 720kWh/m2 (4.7kWh/W assuming 12% conversion efficiency and

190W/m2 of sunlight energy flux (Alsema, 2000). This results in a payback time of about 4.5

years for near-term pc-Si PV modules. As illustrated in Fig 2.5, more recent estimates of the

energy payback time for polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) technologies are about two years

(Fthenakis and Alsema, 2006).

Fig 2.5 Energy payback times for 2004 PV for average southern Europe insolation (190W/m2)

For thin films, the energy required to deposit the active layer is negligible compared to forming

crystalline silicon wafers. Instead, the major energy sink is the energy embodied in the glass or

stainless steel substrate, the film deposition process, and facility operation. These energy costs

are similar for all thin-film technologies (CIGS, CdTe, α-Si), varying only in the film deposition

processes. An estimate for the frameless α-Si module electricity requirement is 330kWh/m2

(4.3kWh/W). According to these estimates and assuming 7% conversion efficiency (standard

conditions) and 190W/m2 of available sunlight flux, the payback time for current thin-film PV

systems is around 2.8 years. More recent estimates give shorter payback times for thin-film

technologies of about one year (Fthenakis and Alsema, 2006).

In a rooftop- or ground-mounted, grid-connected PV system the BOS components and module

frames represent a non-negligible fraction of the total energy requirement (Keoleian and Lewis,

1997). For a rooftop-mounted system another 120 kWh/m2 should be added to the overall

lifecycle energy requirement, resulting in a payback time of about 3.5 years. Support structures

for ground-mounted systems would add about another year to the payback period. Despite the
wide range of payback times that can be found in the literature, all estimates remain higher than

for other renewable sources such as wind (Turner, 1999).

It is interesting to note that analysis of fossil-fuel energy production has suggested that it has

similar energy payback periods to PV technologies if the costs for mining, transportation,

refining, and construction are included in the calculation of the life cycle of fossil fuels (Dones

and Frischknecht, 1997).

Carbon payback The CO2 savings (other pollutants are also avoided, including NOx, SO2, and

particulates) from displacing fossil fuels with photovoltaic systems depend upon the regional

fossil fuels mix and the solar irradiance; values range from 270g to >1050g of CO2/kWh. The

world average is about 660g of CO2/kWh. Assuming an average of 5.5 hours of sunlight per day,

a 1kW PV panel would give a yearly CO2 savings of 1330kg (McGehee and Heeger, 2000).

The CO2 payback time from avoided emissions also depends on the local energy mix and the

panel efficiency. Assuming an energy cost for a sc-Si panel of 600kWh/m2 and the average of

660g of CO2/kWh, the manufacture of a 1m2 panel produces ~400 kg of CO2. If we assume

12% efficiency and a solar irradiance of 1kW/m2, it takes 3300kg of CO2 to produce a 1kW PV

plant, which is paid back in avoided emissions at 1330kg/year for a total time of 2.5 years. For a

more detailed analysis.) Higher cell efficiencies lower both the energy and CO2 payback time, as

do manufacturing techniques that are more energy efficient (Fthenakis and Zweibel, 2003).

Safety and environmental issues The major safety and environmental issues related to the

manufacture of photovoltaics are (1) the safe handling of gases used for surface treatment or the

growth of thin films (e.g. AsH3, SiH4, GeH4, PH3, B2H6, and H2Se), and (2) the toxicity of

some semiconductor components (e.g. Cd). It is generally believed that safe usage of potentially

hazardous materials in PV manufacturing is possible and that the electronics industry has already
made significant progress in dealing with similar materials. Nevertheless, further investigation

could lead to the replacement of toxic components and thus eliminate most of the concerns about

the environmental risks of photovoltaics (Fthenakis and Zweibel, 2003).

Recycling is an important strategy to be considered to enhance the public acceptance of PV

technologies, to conserve rare minerals such as tellurium, and to reduce the energy requirement

of PV manufacturing. Recycling cost estimates are 0.2-0.4$/W for CdTe modules (at a process

scale of 2MW), and about 0.13$/W for c-Si cells at an operational scale of 150,000 c-Si cells per

year as shown in fig 2.6 (Fthenakis et al, 1998).

Fig 2.6. Solar energy conversion paths and technologies considered in this survey.

A wide variety of solar technologies have the potential to become a large component of the

future energy portfolio. Passive technologies are used for indoor lighting and heating of

buildings and water for domestic use. Also, various active technologies are used to convert solar

energy into various energy carriers for further utilization. Photovoltaics directly convert photon

energy into electricity (Lenzmann, 2004).

These devices use inorganic or organic semiconductor materials that absorb photons with energy

greater than their bandgap to promote energy carriers into their conduction band. Electron-hole

pairs, or excitons for organic semiconductors, are subsequently separated and charges are

collected at the electrodes for electricity generation.

Solar thermal technologies convert the energy of direct light into thermal energy using

concentrator devices. These systems reach temperatures of several hundred degrees with high

associated exergy. Electricity can then be produced using various strategies including thermal

engines (e.g. Stirling engines) and alternators, direct electron extraction from thermionic devices,

Seebeck effect in thermoelectric generators, conversion of IR light radiated by hot bodies

through thermophotovoltaic devices, and conversion of the kinetic energy of ionized gases

through magnetohydrodynamic converters.

Photosynthetic, photo(electro)chemical, thermal, and thermochemical processes are used to

convert solar energy into chemical energy for energy storage in the form of chemical fuels,

particularly hydrogen. Among the most significant processes for hydrogen production are direct

solar water splitting in photoelectrochemical cells or various thermochemical cycles such as the

two-step water-splitting cycle using the Zn/ZnO redox system.

This document focuses on active solar technologies which are organized according to the energy

conversion paths that they use to convert the energy of photons into a usable energy form:

photons-to-electricity, photons-to-chemical energy, photons-to-heat-toelectricity, and photons-to-

heat-to-chemical energy (see Fig. 6). This analysis focuses on the fundamental physical

processes that govern the operation of the solar devices with the intent of identifying common

trends or synergies between different technologies that could help identify novel research

opportunities.
PHOTOVOTAIC CELLS

Photovoltaic systems are solar energy supply systems, which convert sunlight directly to

electricity. The chief component in PV systems is the solar panel which is formed by putting

together several PV cells. Putting together several PV cells forms a PV module; several modules

form arrays and several arrays form panels. The modular nature of PV cells makes it possible for

them to be used for a wide range of power applications ranging from a few milliwatts in wrist

watches and scientific calculators to several megawatts in central power stations. Solar cells are

usually made of semiconductor materials such as silicon, gallium arsenide, cadmium telluride or

copper indium diselenide (DGS, 2008). Solar cells come in two major forms based on the nature

of the material used in their production. The two main forms are crystalline solar cells and thin

film solar cells. Crystalline solar cells, so far, have the highest conversion efficiencies when it

comes to photovoltaic cells and the main types are monocrystalline and polycrystalline cells

(DGS, 2008). Thin film cells, although less efficient than crystalline silicon offer greater promise

for large-scale power generation because of ease of mass-production and lower materials cost.

The commonest example of thin film cells is the amorphous silicon cell (DGS, 2008).

Photovoltaic systems can be grouped into two main groups; namely off-grid systems and grid-

connected systems (DGS, 2008). Off-Grid Systems Off-grid PV systems, as the name implies,

are systems that are not connected to the public electricity grid. These systems require an energy

storage system for the energy generated because the energy generated is not usually required at

the same time as it is generated (DGS, 2008). In other words, solar energy is available during the

day, but the lights in a stand-alone solar lighting system are used at night so the solar energy

generated during the day must be stored for use in the night. They are mostly used in areas where

it is not possible to install an electricity supply from the mains utility grid, or where this is not
cost-effective or desirable. They are therefore preferable for developing countries where vast

areas are still frequently not supplied by an electrical grid. Off-grid systems are usually

employed in the following applications; consumer applications such as watches and scientific

calculators, industrial applications such as telecommunications and traffic signs and remote

habitations such as solar home systems and water pumping applications. A typical off-grid

system comprises the following main components: • Solar PV Modules: these convert sunlight

directly to electricity. • Charge Controllers: manage the charging and discharging of the batteries

in order to maximize their lifetimes and minimize operational problems • Battery or Battery

Bank: Stores the energy generated by the PV modules • Inverter: converts the DC current

generated by the solar PV modules to AC current for AC consumer load (DGS, 2008). Grid-

Connected PV Systems Grid-connected systems are systems connected to a large independent

grid usually the public electricity grid and feed power directly into the grid. These systems are

usually employed in decentralised grid-connected PV applications and centralized grid-

connected PV applications (DGS, 2008). Decentralised grid-connected PV applications include

rooftop PV generators, where the PV systems are mounted on rooftops of buildings and

incorporated into the building’s integrated system (DGS, 2008). In the case of residential or

building mounted grid connected PV systems, the electricity demand of the building is served by

the PV system and the excess is fed into the grid; their capacities are usually in the lower range

of kilowatts (DGS, 2008). • A typical grid-connected PV system comprises the following

components: • Solar PV Modules: these convert sunlight directly to electricity. • Inverter:

converts the DC current generated by the solar PV modules to AC current for the utility grid. •

Main disconnect/isolator Switch • Utility Grid Central grid-connected PV applications have

capacities ranging from the higher kilowatts to the megawatt range (DGS, 2008). Solar PV is
currently the fastest growing power generation technology in the world with about 38,584MW

capacity installed in the year 2010. In all, Europe alone contributes about 70% of the total

installed capacity of PV systems with North America, Japan, China and Australia following in

that order (EPIA et al 2010). Grid-connected systems make up the majority of these figures and

this is as a result of favourable incentives such as feed-in tariff schemes, tax rebates and

investment subsidies. (EPIA et al, 2010; REN21, 2011) The solar PV industry has also seen

tremendous improvement in cell efficiencies for the various technologies available on

commercial scale. This improvement in technology and the continuous growth of the PV market

has led to drastic reduction in the cost of solar PV systems on the global market (EPIA et al,

2010). The situation on the African continent is however not encouraging, with Africa

contributing less than 1% of the world’s installed solar PV systems (installed capacity of

163MW as at the end of 2010), in spite of the huge solar energy potential available to the

continent (BrewHammond et al., 2008). This is as a result of the lack of policy instruments that

help promote renewable energy technologies in general and also the very high initial capital

involved in developing solar PV systems. Grid-connected solar PV systems are not that popular

in Africa since most solar PV applications are employed in off-grid rural electrification projects

to rural communities (for lighting, educational and health applications) that are far from the

national grid. (EPIA et al, 2010). The situation in Ghana is not so different from the rest of the

Africa continent with most solar PV systems employed in off-grid rural electrification projects.

The Energy Commission of Ghana is however leading efforts to promote grid-connected solar

PV in the country by partly sponsoring individuals and institutions to install grid connected solar

PV and wind energy systems with capacities not less than 75kWp. The commission is also

spearheading development of a renewable energy law for the country which will provide
incentives for the development of renewable energy technologies in the country including grid-

connected solar PV. The Energy Commission and KNUST both have installed 4kWp grid-

connected solar PV systems each, donated by the German state of North Rhine Westphalia to aid

in research into grid-connected solar PV systems (MoE, 2010; Energy Commission, 2011).
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