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Techno-Economic Assessment of Installing a Reliable Renewable Energy System for Electric Power Generation at Koforidua Polytechnic

Received: 14 May 2016     Accepted: 28 May 2016     Published: 13 June 2016
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Abstract

Ghana has been experiencing a lot of power outages over the years, mainly due to the heavy reliance on hydroelectric power plants, poor maintenance culture for existing plants as well as rising energy demand for development. These shortages have hindered the smooth running of businesses and academic institutions in the country. Institutions therefore operate with Genset for 12 hours with huge operational cost. This work therefore seeks to technically and economically assess a reliable alternative power supply for Koforidua Polytechnic. The building used in this assessment is the engineering block, which has five (5) floors with a total energy consumption of 227.520kWh/day for lights and fans. Homer software for micro grid and distributed generation power system design and optimization (NREL Homer) was used to do the optimization and sensitivity analysis with daily average electric demand of 9.48kW and peak power of 26.7kW with July, August and December having the highest mean values. The designed Photovoltaic (PV) system consists of 70kW monocrystalline PV modules of 250 Wp at a system voltage of 12V with 111 batteries and 17kW converter. The levelized Net Cost to install a renewable energy system (PV) divided by its expected time energy output of electricity from the optimized system at an annual real interest rate of ten (10%) percent is GHȻ2.38/kW. For the PV system designed to reach “Grid Parity”, the levelized cost of energy is estimated to be GHȻ2.03/kW with an annual real interest rate of six (6%) percent.

Published in International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering (Volume 5, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijepe.20160503.17
Page(s) 133-140
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Nrel Homer, Photovoltaic, Electricity in Ghana, Energy System Design, Levelized Cost of Energy

References
[1] Ghana Energy Commission. (2015). National Energy statistics 2005-2014. Strategic planning and policy division, Energy commission of Ghana. Available at: http//www.energycom.gov.gh/files/ENERGY%20STATISTICS.pdf accessed on 15/01/2016.
[2] Brew-Hammond A., et al (2007). Energy crises in Ghana: Drought, Technology or Policy? KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana, ISBN: 9988-8377-2-0. Pp23-43.
[3] SWERA National Report. Available at http//www.energycom.gov.gh/downloads/Technical%20Reports/SWERA%20%National%20Report.pdf accessed on 10/02/2016.
[4] National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): HOMER, the Micropower Optimization Model [Online]. Available at: http://www.homerenergy.com.
[5] Martinot, E., (2001) Renewable energy investment by the world bank. Energy Policy, 29, 689-699.
[6] Energy Commission of Ghana (2006). Strategic national energy plan 2006-2020 and Ghana Energy Policy. Main version, Energy Commission of Ghana.
[7] Ministry of Energy and Petroleum (2014). Renewable Energy Policy issues / Energy Act 2011, Act 832(01).
[8] Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (2005). Guide to electric power in Ghana. University of Ghana,. Pg 17-23.
[9] Ministry of Energy and Petroleum (2014) Medium term expenditure framework (MTEF) for 2014-2016. Programme based budget estimates. MoEP.
[10] VRA 2MW Solar Power Plant at Novrongo available at http://www.vra.com/our_mandate/solar_energy.php accessed on 30/11/2016.
[11] GB-Sol Ltd. Solar PV Specifications Available at: http://www.gb-sol.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/GBS-330-360-Datasheet.pdf accessed on 10/12/2015.
[12] Qingdao solar leading. Converter specification Available at: http://www.solarleading.com accessed on 19/10/2015.
[13] Tariff structure for imports (2013). Available at http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/economy/import_duty.php accessed on 28/08/2015.
[14] Bank of Ghana (2016). Interest rate and inflation. Available at: http://www.bog.gov.gh accessed on 15/01/2016.
[15] Electricity Company of Ghana. Electricity Prices. Available at: http//www.ecgonline.info/images/RECKONER_Poster.pdf Accessed on 14/04/2016.
[16] NEPAD Business Investment Guide. Renewable energy: Carbon Finance and Africa’s Energy Challenge. Corporate Africa (2008) (4).
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  • APA Style

    Isaac Kwasi Yankey, Samuel Kwofie, Godfred Kwame Abledu. (2016). Techno-Economic Assessment of Installing a Reliable Renewable Energy System for Electric Power Generation at Koforidua Polytechnic. International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering, 5(3), 133-140. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20160503.17

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    ACS Style

    Isaac Kwasi Yankey; Samuel Kwofie; Godfred Kwame Abledu. Techno-Economic Assessment of Installing a Reliable Renewable Energy System for Electric Power Generation at Koforidua Polytechnic. Int. J. Energy Power Eng. 2016, 5(3), 133-140. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepe.20160503.17

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    AMA Style

    Isaac Kwasi Yankey, Samuel Kwofie, Godfred Kwame Abledu. Techno-Economic Assessment of Installing a Reliable Renewable Energy System for Electric Power Generation at Koforidua Polytechnic. Int J Energy Power Eng. 2016;5(3):133-140. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepe.20160503.17

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijepe.20160503.17,
      author = {Isaac Kwasi Yankey and Samuel Kwofie and Godfred Kwame Abledu},
      title = {Techno-Economic Assessment of Installing a Reliable Renewable Energy System for Electric Power Generation at Koforidua Polytechnic},
      journal = {International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering},
      volume = {5},
      number = {3},
      pages = {133-140},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijepe.20160503.17},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20160503.17},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepe.20160503.17},
      abstract = {Ghana has been experiencing a lot of power outages over the years, mainly due to the heavy reliance on hydroelectric power plants, poor maintenance culture for existing plants as well as rising energy demand for development. These shortages have hindered the smooth running of businesses and academic institutions in the country. Institutions therefore operate with Genset for 12 hours with huge operational cost. This work therefore seeks to technically and economically assess a reliable alternative power supply for Koforidua Polytechnic. The building used in this assessment is the engineering block, which has five (5) floors with a total energy consumption of 227.520kWh/day for lights and fans. Homer software for micro grid and distributed generation power system design and optimization (NREL Homer) was used to do the optimization and sensitivity analysis with daily average electric demand of 9.48kW and peak power of 26.7kW with July, August and December having the highest mean values. The designed Photovoltaic (PV) system consists of 70kW monocrystalline PV modules of 250 Wp at a system voltage of 12V with 111 batteries and 17kW converter. The levelized Net Cost to install a renewable energy system (PV) divided by its expected time energy output of electricity from the optimized system at an annual real interest rate of ten (10%) percent is GHȻ2.38/kW. For the PV system designed to reach “Grid Parity”, the levelized cost of energy is estimated to be GHȻ2.03/kW with an annual real interest rate of six (6%) percent.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Techno-Economic Assessment of Installing a Reliable Renewable Energy System for Electric Power Generation at Koforidua Polytechnic
    AU  - Isaac Kwasi Yankey
    AU  - Samuel Kwofie
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    T2  - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering
    JF  - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering
    JO  - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
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    AB  - Ghana has been experiencing a lot of power outages over the years, mainly due to the heavy reliance on hydroelectric power plants, poor maintenance culture for existing plants as well as rising energy demand for development. These shortages have hindered the smooth running of businesses and academic institutions in the country. Institutions therefore operate with Genset for 12 hours with huge operational cost. This work therefore seeks to technically and economically assess a reliable alternative power supply for Koforidua Polytechnic. The building used in this assessment is the engineering block, which has five (5) floors with a total energy consumption of 227.520kWh/day for lights and fans. Homer software for micro grid and distributed generation power system design and optimization (NREL Homer) was used to do the optimization and sensitivity analysis with daily average electric demand of 9.48kW and peak power of 26.7kW with July, August and December having the highest mean values. The designed Photovoltaic (PV) system consists of 70kW monocrystalline PV modules of 250 Wp at a system voltage of 12V with 111 batteries and 17kW converter. The levelized Net Cost to install a renewable energy system (PV) divided by its expected time energy output of electricity from the optimized system at an annual real interest rate of ten (10%) percent is GHȻ2.38/kW. For the PV system designed to reach “Grid Parity”, the levelized cost of energy is estimated to be GHȻ2.03/kW with an annual real interest rate of six (6%) percent.
    VL  - 5
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Author Information
  • Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Koforidua Polytechnic, Koforidua, Ghana

  • Department of Applied Mathematics, Koforidua Polytechnic, Koforidua, Ghana

  • Department of Applied Mathematics, Koforidua Polytechnic, Koforidua, Ghana

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