Time series forecast of power output of a 50MWp solar farm in Ghana

The energy industry in Ghana is working towards the strategic objective of accelerating the development and use of energy efficiency and renewable energy technology to attain a 10 % penetration of the country's electricity mix. However, due to the inherent unpredictability of solar energy compa...

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Main Authors: Alhassan Sulemana Puziem, Felix Amankwah Diawuo, Peter Acheampong, Mathew Atinsia Anabadongo, Dampaak Abdulai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Solar Compass
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772940025000062
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author Alhassan Sulemana Puziem
Felix Amankwah Diawuo
Peter Acheampong
Mathew Atinsia Anabadongo
Dampaak Abdulai
author_facet Alhassan Sulemana Puziem
Felix Amankwah Diawuo
Peter Acheampong
Mathew Atinsia Anabadongo
Dampaak Abdulai
author_sort Alhassan Sulemana Puziem
collection DOAJ
description The energy industry in Ghana is working towards the strategic objective of accelerating the development and use of energy efficiency and renewable energy technology to attain a 10 % penetration of the country's electricity mix. However, due to the inherent unpredictability of solar energy compared to conventional sources, adjustments in power system planning and operations will be required to achieve these targets. The variations in solar energy output can cause problems for the grid infrastructure, especially for large-scale solar farms, potentially leading to poorer power flow quality. An autoregressive model (AR) serving as a benchmark model was developed as a reference for the Facebook prophet model. The Prophet outperformed the AR model in percentage-based metrics, with a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 12.1 % and a Median Absolute Percentage Error (MdAPE) of 13.8 % , both lower than the AR model's 16.28 % and 17.23 % respectively. However, the AR model demonstrates stronger performance in absolute error metrics, suggesting it better captures magnitude changes, whereas Prophet excels in relative error metrics, indicating better robustness to scale and variability. It is expected that the results of this study will improve Bui Power Authority (BPA) confidence in the effective decision-making of energy generation and supply. Moreso, this study also contributes to existing research, particularly in Ghana, providing insights to optimize energy production, improve grid stability, and enhance revenue streams.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2772-9400
language English
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spelling doaj-art-323ddb8624ce41799a9afb2bc017e58f2025-08-20T03:48:14ZengElsevierSolar Compass2772-94002025-06-011410011110.1016/j.solcom.2025.100111Time series forecast of power output of a 50MWp solar farm in GhanaAlhassan Sulemana Puziem0Felix Amankwah Diawuo1Peter Acheampong2Mathew Atinsia Anabadongo3Dampaak Abdulai4Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, School of Energy, University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), PO Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana; Regional Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (RCEES), University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), PO Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana; Bui Power Authority, BPA Heights, no 11 Dodi Link, Airport Residential Area, Airport Accra, Ghana; Corresponding author.Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, School of Energy, University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), PO Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana; Regional Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (RCEES), University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), PO Box 214, Sunyani, GhanaBui Power Authority, BPA Heights, no 11 Dodi Link, Airport Residential Area, Airport Accra, GhanaDepartment of Renewable Energy Engineering, School of Energy, University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), PO Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana; Regional Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (RCEES), University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), PO Box 214, Sunyani, GhanaDepartment of Renewable Energy Engineering, School of Energy, University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), PO Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana; Regional Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (RCEES), University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), PO Box 214, Sunyani, GhanaThe energy industry in Ghana is working towards the strategic objective of accelerating the development and use of energy efficiency and renewable energy technology to attain a 10 % penetration of the country's electricity mix. However, due to the inherent unpredictability of solar energy compared to conventional sources, adjustments in power system planning and operations will be required to achieve these targets. The variations in solar energy output can cause problems for the grid infrastructure, especially for large-scale solar farms, potentially leading to poorer power flow quality. An autoregressive model (AR) serving as a benchmark model was developed as a reference for the Facebook prophet model. The Prophet outperformed the AR model in percentage-based metrics, with a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 12.1 % and a Median Absolute Percentage Error (MdAPE) of 13.8 % , both lower than the AR model's 16.28 % and 17.23 % respectively. However, the AR model demonstrates stronger performance in absolute error metrics, suggesting it better captures magnitude changes, whereas Prophet excels in relative error metrics, indicating better robustness to scale and variability. It is expected that the results of this study will improve Bui Power Authority (BPA) confidence in the effective decision-making of energy generation and supply. Moreso, this study also contributes to existing research, particularly in Ghana, providing insights to optimize energy production, improve grid stability, and enhance revenue streams.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772940025000062Solar energyPoint focus forecastInterval forecastAutoregressive modelFacebook prophetClimate change
spellingShingle Alhassan Sulemana Puziem
Felix Amankwah Diawuo
Peter Acheampong
Mathew Atinsia Anabadongo
Dampaak Abdulai
Time series forecast of power output of a 50MWp solar farm in Ghana
Solar Compass
Solar energy
Point focus forecast
Interval forecast
Autoregressive model
Facebook prophet
Climate change
title Time series forecast of power output of a 50MWp solar farm in Ghana
title_full Time series forecast of power output of a 50MWp solar farm in Ghana
title_fullStr Time series forecast of power output of a 50MWp solar farm in Ghana
title_full_unstemmed Time series forecast of power output of a 50MWp solar farm in Ghana
title_short Time series forecast of power output of a 50MWp solar farm in Ghana
title_sort time series forecast of power output of a 50mwp solar farm in ghana
topic Solar energy
Point focus forecast
Interval forecast
Autoregressive model
Facebook prophet
Climate change
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772940025000062
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