Assessing the capacity of renewable power production for green energy system: a way forward towards zero carbon electrification

Abstract

Ghana suffers from inadequate power supply due to increasing demand though it is amongst the African nations with the highest access to electricity. This research aims to assess the techno-economic potential of wind and solar energy potential for Ghana’s northern part. We employ the Weibull distribution function, levelized cost of energy, and net present cost metrics for the economic study. The wind and solar energy resource’s structure generated 72,284 kWh yearly. Both systems were identified to be too expensive if implemented under the current financing conditions in the country. The PV systems generated 38,859 kWh/year, representing 53.76% of the total electricity generated in a year, generating renewable hydrogen in the country. The findings show that sizing and management of renewable plants will fulfill the basic annual cooking demands of the populations, which are 785 kg H2 in Ghana. The countries’ capacity for developing solar hydrogen plants is further suggested by generating new solar hydrogen opportunity charts. Considering the significance of hydrogen energy under the renewable energy output, we recommend using hybrid systems for hydrogen production. The findings reveal which flexibility options are critical in key stages of the energy transition to a 70, 80, 90, and 100% renewable energy system. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.