Techno-economic viability and environmental sustainability of a grid-connected solar PV system for small and medium scale businesses in Cape Coast–Ghana using RETScreen expert
Ghana is home to some of West Africa’s largest markets which have high energy consumption levels. This presents significant opportunities for solar energy investments. The study assesses the technical, economic and environmental viability of implementing three solar photovoltaic systems for three ca...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311916.2025.2532010 |
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| author | Kwame Anane-Fenin Nana Yaa Serwaah Sarpong Theophilus Adu Frimpong Mukuna Patrick Mubiayi Richmond Kuleape Damenortey Richard Akwada Wisdom Eyram Kwame Agbesi Juliana Sally Renner Charles Emmanuel Oppon Lawrence Atepor Felix Menu |
| author_facet | Kwame Anane-Fenin Nana Yaa Serwaah Sarpong Theophilus Adu Frimpong Mukuna Patrick Mubiayi Richmond Kuleape Damenortey Richard Akwada Wisdom Eyram Kwame Agbesi Juliana Sally Renner Charles Emmanuel Oppon Lawrence Atepor Felix Menu |
| author_sort | Kwame Anane-Fenin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ghana is home to some of West Africa’s largest markets which have high energy consumption levels. This presents significant opportunities for solar energy investments. The study assesses the technical, economic and environmental viability of implementing three solar photovoltaic systems for three categories of small and medium-sized enterprises based on their energy demand. The results showed a promising energy yield of 1.42 kWh/yr per watt and a capacity factor of 16.3%. However, the economic analysis presented significant challenges such as a payback period ranging from 17.8 to 20.3 years, negative Net Present Value and levelized cost of energy higher than the base case grid electricity price. The environmental analysis demonstrated substantial potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction, with all systems achieving a 93% decrease compared to the local grid. A policy impact analysis was conducted to highlight industry-approved and research-based policies that meet global best practices. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b85d65d07aab4f5d92c5fd2950eb3934 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2331-1916 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-b85d65d07aab4f5d92c5fd2950eb39342025-08-20T03:34:10ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Engineering2331-19162025-12-0112110.1080/23311916.2025.2532010Techno-economic viability and environmental sustainability of a grid-connected solar PV system for small and medium scale businesses in Cape Coast–Ghana using RETScreen expertKwame Anane-Fenin0Nana Yaa Serwaah Sarpong1Theophilus Adu Frimpong2Mukuna Patrick Mubiayi3Richmond Kuleape4Damenortey Richard Akwada5Wisdom Eyram Kwame Agbesi6Juliana Sally Renner7Charles Emmanuel Oppon8Lawrence Atepor9Felix Menu10Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Renewable Energy and Technology, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast, GhanaInstitute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South AfricaCentre for Renewable Energy, Albert Ludwigs Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, GermanyDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast, GhanaGhana is home to some of West Africa’s largest markets which have high energy consumption levels. This presents significant opportunities for solar energy investments. The study assesses the technical, economic and environmental viability of implementing three solar photovoltaic systems for three categories of small and medium-sized enterprises based on their energy demand. The results showed a promising energy yield of 1.42 kWh/yr per watt and a capacity factor of 16.3%. However, the economic analysis presented significant challenges such as a payback period ranging from 17.8 to 20.3 years, negative Net Present Value and levelized cost of energy higher than the base case grid electricity price. The environmental analysis demonstrated substantial potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction, with all systems achieving a 93% decrease compared to the local grid. A policy impact analysis was conducted to highlight industry-approved and research-based policies that meet global best practices.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311916.2025.2532010Photovoltaic systemsRET screenrenewable energy adoptionsolar sizingsmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)Hermodynamics |
| spellingShingle | Kwame Anane-Fenin Nana Yaa Serwaah Sarpong Theophilus Adu Frimpong Mukuna Patrick Mubiayi Richmond Kuleape Damenortey Richard Akwada Wisdom Eyram Kwame Agbesi Juliana Sally Renner Charles Emmanuel Oppon Lawrence Atepor Felix Menu Techno-economic viability and environmental sustainability of a grid-connected solar PV system for small and medium scale businesses in Cape Coast–Ghana using RETScreen expert Cogent Engineering Photovoltaic systems RET screen renewable energy adoption solar sizing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) Hermodynamics |
| title | Techno-economic viability and environmental sustainability of a grid-connected solar PV system for small and medium scale businesses in Cape Coast–Ghana using RETScreen expert |
| title_full | Techno-economic viability and environmental sustainability of a grid-connected solar PV system for small and medium scale businesses in Cape Coast–Ghana using RETScreen expert |
| title_fullStr | Techno-economic viability and environmental sustainability of a grid-connected solar PV system for small and medium scale businesses in Cape Coast–Ghana using RETScreen expert |
| title_full_unstemmed | Techno-economic viability and environmental sustainability of a grid-connected solar PV system for small and medium scale businesses in Cape Coast–Ghana using RETScreen expert |
| title_short | Techno-economic viability and environmental sustainability of a grid-connected solar PV system for small and medium scale businesses in Cape Coast–Ghana using RETScreen expert |
| title_sort | techno economic viability and environmental sustainability of a grid connected solar pv system for small and medium scale businesses in cape coast ghana using retscreen expert |
| topic | Photovoltaic systems RET screen renewable energy adoption solar sizing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) Hermodynamics |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311916.2025.2532010 |
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