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Sustainable Use of Solar PV Systems in Rural Ghana: Barriers, Barrier Removal Measures and Priority Factors

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Sustainable Use of Solar PV Systems in Rural Ghana: Barriers, Barrier Removal Measures and Priority Factors International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) ISSN: 2278-0181 Vol. 2 Issue 11, November - 2013 Sustainable Use of Solar PV Systems in Rural Ghana: Barriers, Barrier Removal Measures and Priority Factors George Y. Obeng Technology Consultancy Centre College of Engineering Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Abstract This study examined two major public solar [3] with rural access being relatively low. photovoltaic (PV) projects that operated on fee-for- In most developing regions, grid extension service in rural Ghana. The purpose was to identify and analyse barriers to the sustainable use of solar to remote rural areas is found to be PV systems and priority factors for increasing its expensive because of low population future use in off-grid rural communities. The study density, lower consumption and lower was based on a cross-sectional survey conducted in revenue per km [4]. In line with rural solar-electrified households and enterprises. government’s energy policy, solar Using Pareto’s analysis, the study ranked the barriers facing rural households as: unavailability photovoltaic (PV) systems are being of PV parts on the local market; high price of PV promoted in rural Ghana to increase parts; limited government support; and lack of end- electricity access for socio-economic user financing. At the enterprise level development. Although solar PV systems aging/defective batteries and power fluctuation due are cost-effective alternatives, there are to low sunshine hours during rainy seasons several barriers to its sustainable use. prevented extension of working hours after sunset.IJERT IJERT Measures to remove the barriers such as local capacity development to reduce system failure, In this paper, we define sustainable use of charging the poor fees up to US$3/month as well as solar PV systems as the ability to use PV the priority factors for increasing the use of PV systems to meet the electricity needs of the systems are discussed. present without compromising the ability to meet future needs. Barriers are also defined Keywords: Solar photovoltaic; barriers; as structures and systems that prevent or priority factors; sustainable use; Ghana. discourage actions and benefits [5]. The generic barriers to renewable energy in 1. Introduction developing countries often cited in the 1.1 Background literature include high initial system costs, The policy of the government of Ghana is lack of national markets, lack of to achieve universal access to electricity by information, lack of finance and low the year 2020. However, access to investment [6, 7, 8, 9]. electricity is unevenly distributed and highly skewed in favour of the urban Pegels [10] identified cost and risk population. Out of about 3.7 million structures as major barriers to renewable households in Ghana, access to grid- energy in South Africa. In the specific electricity was about 54% in 2005 [1] and context of solar home systems, Ketlogetswe 60.5% in 2009 [2], and about 72% in 2012 and Mothudi [11] cited low income status IJERTV2IS110915 www.ijert.org 3413 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) ISSN: 2278-0181 Vol. 2 Issue 11, November - 2013 of rural inhabitants and migration of house- potential users may not accept PV owners from village status to lands, or technology as an appropriate alternative. cattle posts as major barriers causing low Therefore, two major public solar PV rural use of solar home systems by rural electrification projects in Ghana were communities in Botswana. Assessment of studied for analysis: (1) Spanish/Ministry of GEF-supported solar PV projects in several Energy Solar PV Electrification Project; African countries including Kenya, and (2) UNDP-GEF Renewable Energy Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zambia and Service Project (RESPRO). These projects Uganda indicated high investment costs, were implemented between 1998 and 2002 low awareness, lack of technical skills and in off-grid rural and peri-urban low capacity as the major barriers [12]. communities in Ghana using fee-for-sevice Nevertheless, these barriers are universal approach. and lack ranking for attention and key barrier removal measures. 1.2 Research Questions and Objectives To help analyse the barriers and priority Given the fact that barriers are often quite factors for sustainable use of off-grid PV situation-specific in any given region or systems, the following research questions country, there is the need to examine were posed to guide the study: What important few barriers specific to the specific barriers affect the sustainable use Ghanaian context for policy and planning of solar PV systems in off-grid rural decisions, bearing in mind budgetary communities? What measures can constraints and limited resource allocations. contribute to remove or mitigate the Despite considerable deployment of solar barriers? How do solar-electrified PV systems in Ghana, there is relatively households perceive the future use of PV little research on the specific challenges systems? What factors can contribute to facing rural consumers. Furthermore, there increase the future use and maintenance of are uncertainties with regard to the specificIJERT IJERTsolar PV systems in rural communities? barriers to the sustainable use of rural PV What policies can contribute to ensure the systems at the household and enterprise sustainability of public solar PV rural levels. electrification projects? The objectives of this paper were three fold: First, to identify Results available indicate that the use of and analyse the barriers to the sustainable solar PV in off-grid rural communities is use of solar PV in rural households and plagued with barriers, which must be micro-enterprises in Ghana; second, to carefully researched. At the same time, suggest measures to remove the barriers; there are priority areas of concern, which and third, to determine priority factors and must also be researched to provide the make recommendations for the direction to sustain off-grid PV systems. sustainability of public solar PV Without a clear analysis of the barriers and electrification projects. the priority factors for sustainable use, 2. Methodology 2.1 Study Areas and Research Methods To determine the barriers to the sustainable solar-electrified enterprises (N=118) were use of solar PV in rural households and conducted in sixteen communities of five micro-enterprises, cross-sectional surveys regions in Ghana. The study areas were the of 96 solar-electrified households and 22 following off-grid rural communities: IJERTV2IS110915 www.ijert.org 3414 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) ISSN: 2278-0181 Vol. 2 Issue 11, November - 2013 Kpentang, Kpenbung, Kambatiak, Bamong, beneficiaries, PV systems (50Wp and Kintango, Chintilung, Tojing, 100Wp) that have been operational for over Gbetmanpaak, Jimbali, Najong No.1 and three years were selected. This criterion Pagnatik in Bunkpurungu Yunyoo district was based on the assumption that over a (Northern region); Kpalbe in East Gonja three-year period, PV systems and district (Northern region); Tengzuk in components (car battery, regulator and Talensi-Nabdam district (Upper East fluorescent lamp etc.) would have gone region); Wechiau in Wa-West district through a cycle of operation and (Upper West region); Kpassa in Nkwanta maintenance (O&M) and beneficiaries district (Volta region); and Apollonia in would have learned lessons worth studying. Tema district (Greater Accra region). Pre- The purpose of the questionnaire was to testing of the questionnaires was carried out gather ex-post information regarding the in the Nkoranza district of Brong-Ahafo factors affecting the sustainable use of solar region. PV systems in off-grid rural Ghana. In each of the communities research 2.2 Underlying Assumptions assistants who speak the local language The underlying assumptions that govern the were engaged in the administration of the interpretation of the study results were that questionnaires. The household and since the solar-electrified households and enterprise-level questionnaires contained enterprises did not pay for the costs of the 192 and 91 variables respectively. In view installed PV systems, initial investment of the homogeneity of the end-uses of the costs were not considered in the analysis. PV systems - mainly for lighting, radio and At the household and enterprise levels television - the selected sample size monthly household expenditure and (n=118) with 5% margin of error is enterprise purchases were used as proxies statistically adequate for analysis. Several for incomes. The underlying reason was to authors consider sample sizes (N≥30) asIJERT IJERTfind out whether low income adversely statistically large samples [13, 14]. affect sustainable use of solar PV in rural However, most social researchers would Ghana as reported by Ketlogetswe and probably recommend a sample size of at Mothudi [11]. least 100 as adequate for statistical data analysis [15]. 2.3 Statistical Analysis Pareto analysis and barrier ranking were Separate lists of beneficiaries were used to used to identify and analyse the barriers select the households and enterprises in a associated with the use of solar PV at the systematic sampling. In each sampling, the household and enterprise levels. Statistical first case was randomly selected by significance was computed at p<0.05. In drawing slips of paper with numbers from order to analyse the data, SPSS 16.0 for the first cases based on calculated sampling
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