Papers by Keyword: Solar

Abstract: The limited adoption of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy within Ghana’s private sector presents a barrier to the broader implementation of renewable energy technologies. This challenge is driven by insufficient empirical data on the operational performance and economic benefits of solar PV systems to inform business investment decisions. This study bridges this gap through a techno-economic assessment of two small scale grid-tied solar PV systems installed for a hotel and a financial institution. Solar energy production data from January to December 2023, combined with PVSyst software simulations and a spreadsheet model, were used to evaluate the technical performance and financial viability of the systems. The hotel’s solar with a capacity of 38.22 kWp delivered an annual energy output of 45,880 kWh, a specific yield of 1,200 kWh/kWp/year, a performance ratio of 62%, a Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of 0.065 USD/kWh, and a payback period of 6.55 years. In comparison, the financial institution’s system which has a capacity of 20.68 kWp generated 13,720 kWh annually, with a yield of 663 kWh/kWp/year, a performance ratio of 34%, an LCOE of 0.12 USD/kWh, and a payback period of 13.53 years. Simulating the integration of battery storage for the financial institution solar improved the technical performance raising annual generation to 21,213 KWh, yield to 1,025 kWh/kWp/year, and performance ratio to 52%. However, this increased the LCOE to 0.14 USD/kWh and extended the payback period to 15 years. Further analysis of net metering integration showed enhanced performance and more favorable financial outcomes for both systems. By analyzing real operational data of existing solar systems and exploring optimization options across two different private sector organizations, this study provides practical insights into the interventions required to encourage the adoption of solar PV energy by private enterprises in Ghana.

Abstract: The ever-increasing global population has affected food security in various ways. Dehydrating crops serve as one of the methods to preserve food and improve their shelf life. This paper discusses the various parameters that can contribute to the effectiveness of a mobile solar dryer. Parameters studied include dryer wall profile, wall colors, tray design and crop thickness. The dryer is placed in an area with ample sunlight with its temperature and humidity measured. It is found that dryer wall profile has little effect on the effectiveness while all other studied parameters affect the dryer in various ways. Light colored walls are preferred over dark colors, metal trays are best used for drying crops, and crop thickness only serves as a reference to a specific crop used depending on the customer’s needs.

Abstract: Light capturing is an essential part of many optical devices such as solar cells. This study aimed at modifying surface reflectivity of silicon solar wafers to improve light trapping. A simple and easily controllable etching technique was used to achieve this objective. The surface topography of silicon wafers was modified by etching a controllable pyramid structure on these surfaces. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution was used to etch the silicon surface; the concentrations of KOH were 1mol/L and 2mol/L at temperatures 50°C and 70°C and a varying etching time of 15 and 30 minutes. The surface morphology of the wafer was analyzed by optical microscopy. The activation energy for the reaction was shown to be 42.2 kJ that is very near the value indicated by previous investigators. A texturization mechanism was also advanced using a new parameter that monitors the progressive changes in the diameter of the pyramids. This analysis shows a general increase in the sizes with reduction at certain intervals that can be attributed to the difference in etching rates of the crystal family planes.

Abstract: As renewable energy elucidation, the solar refrigeration of fruits such as date palm is a storage alternate to preserve food in healthy parameters of conditioning. This statistical and numeric study investigates the energy gain cost case around the diverse dimensions’ models of positive cold stores (02, 04, and 06 cold rooms), concerning energetic disparity and numerous financial fluctuations of the applied systems. The results of computation and analysis regarding panels of construction, equipment, consumption, and maintenance for classic, absorption, and adsorption refrigeration systems that conserve dates palm into these three cold stores. In the end, the comparison of technical and economic elements in tables and figures by enumerating their advantages and inconveniences. Classic Bitzer, Absorption WFC SC 5, and Adsorption AG ACS 15 and 08 are models in which their evaluation is relating to their costs. In Biskra, these results mean that adsorption chiller termed AG ACS (15 plus 08) is illustrious by its parameters of simplicity, lifespan, safety, and security, valued to 1147.5 €/m² and median cost up ten years of using is 92972 €.

Abstract: Currently, the world has a lot of research and practical application of intelligent building systems integrated with intelligent power systems. Because Vietnam is a country with potential for solar energy, the integrator of solar energy is being strongly developed. However, the research result of the optimization of electrical energy used by the intelligent type solar integration is rare. This paper presents the design and structure of the module of intelligent control and monitoring via wireless network integrated with the automatic solar concentration system. The system allows easy connection and operation of all electrical power sources including the dispersal solar power to ensure the efficient and lower power consumption. In addition, the solar cell system is applied the Maximum Power Point Tracking technique (MPPT), which helps to stabilize and improve the power generation efficiency of the PV panels. The test results on the module showed absorption performance of automatic solar-cell flat plate systems is raised by 20-30% and power consumption in small households reduced approximately 30%.

Abstract: Renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, could potentially provide an affordable alternative to conventionally generated electricity, especially in locations like the Caribbean which tend to have an abundant solar resource, but also high cost for electricity. Thin film and hybrid solar devices, including Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs), are especially promising energy solutions, due to the low cost of materials and equipment required for their fabrication. In this paper, we investigate the effect of doping titanium dioxide based DSSC photoanodes with lanthanum, cerium, and praseodymium species on the overall performance of the cell, along with results from optimization of the best performing cell formulation according to sintering time and sintering temperature, giving a maximum 39% increase in device efficiency.

Abstract: This paper presents a study to show the complementarity between solar and wind energy potentials in Benin Republic. Daily wind speed data in the coast of Cotonou city, precisely in Cadjehoun district, has been used to assess wind energy potential. Solar potential is evaluated using spatio temporal daily solar radiation data covering the country. In this research, we have found the locations offering optimal complementarity between solar and wind energy. The complementarity is measured with Pearson correlation coefficient, which is used as objective function to be minimized. The optimization method used is Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), which has been implemented in Matlab®. We showed that an optimal complementarity is obtained between the coast of Cotonou in the ‘Littoral’ department and the central part of the country in the ‘Collines’ department.

Abstract: 2017 is the year when the capital of Kazakhstan Astana is hosting the EXPO2017 “Future Energy” conference. It is interesting to consider how Kazakhstan is developing renewable energy usage. Kazakhstan with its huge territory and not very large population is having great potential for renewable energy production. Most of the territory has sufficient amount for solar energy harvest and also large amount of area with high speed of wind, which has large potential to produce sufficient amount of wind energy. Areas such as Jungar Gates and Chylyk Corridor have a huge potential for the production of energy by wind turbines. The part of Kazakhstan between the Balkhash Lake and Aral Sea is not very populated due to shortage of water. At the same time this area has a very high level of solar irradiation. It is possible to harvest there a large amount of solar energy if it would have many solar panel arrays installed. The problem difficult to overcome would be the maintenance of these solar panel arrays due to low population and pure living conditions. There are at least two major reasons to go for renewable energy development in the country. First one – Kazakhstani leadership is looking into opportunities to change from a resource economy (it is one of the oil producing countries – it has more than 2% of the world oil reserve and many other resources) to a technology driven one. In this case resources will be used to produce different products. Due to that, one of the challenges is to move from fossil fuel driven energy production to alternative sources and the potential is there. Another stimulus is that Kazakhstan is the country which has joined to Kyoto protocol and Paris agreement. Thus, Kazakhstan tends to reduce greenhouse effect and also Kazakhstan is going towards the generation of energy from alternative sources. The government of the country is developing the legislation in direction to encourage producers and users to increase share of alternative sources for energy generation in Kazakhstan. It provides users with benefits if they supply energy produced by alternative sources to the grid with preferable rates.

Abstract: The purpose of this research to optimize the performance of solar dryers. Optimizing the performance of solar dryers can be done by observing the effect of natural convection flow controls to change the performance of solar dryers. Experimenting performed by the direct measurement method. In the solar dryer made in space collector inlet and outlet of the drying chamber. There are two outlet on the bottom and the top of the drying chamber. Natural convection flow control is done by adjusting the three variations (full open, half open and full close) openings on the upper outlet of the drying chamber. For the most accurate results, testing was conducted simultaneously three kinds of variations of openings using three solar dryers. The results show that optimal conditions of the solar dryer is in the half open position of the outlet flow natural convection.

Abstract: The present scenario of energy conservation has witnessed many innovative and eco-friendly techniques and one such area where there is a necessity to conserve energy is foundries. Foundries also pollute the atmosphere with greenhouse gases contributing to 296143037.6 metric tons annually. The proposed technique in this paper aims at reducing the energy utilized in melting the scrap material at foundries by solar thermal energy. In the methodology proposed, solar energy is concentrated onto the scrap placed on a receiving platform using a parabolic trough and heats it up so that the heated scrap takes lesser energy to melt. The experiments resulted in preheating temperature of 100 °C when placed on a receiving platform and 110°C when copper shots are used to conduct heat from receiver to the scrap. This translates to energy conservation of 6%. This eco-friendly technique when adopted can result in substantial savings in consumption and environmental protection.