IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i15p6223-d393671.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pilot Low-Cost Concentrating Solar Power Systems Deployment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study of Implementation Challenges

Author

Listed:
  • Emmanuel Wendsongre Ramde

    (The Brew-Hammond Energy Centre, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana)

  • Eric Tutu Tchao

    (Department of Computer Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana)

  • Yesuenyeagbe Atsu Kwabla Fiagbe

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana)

  • Jerry John Kponyo

    (Department of Telecommunications Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana)

  • Asakipaam Simon Atuah

    (Department of Telecommunications Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana)

Abstract

Electricity is one of the most crucial resources that drives any given nation’s growth and development. The latest Sustainable Development Goals report indicates Africa still has a high deficit in electricity generation. Concentrating solar power seems to be a potential option to fill the deficit. That is because most of the components of concentrating solar power plants are readily available on the African market at affordable prices, and there are qualified local persons to build the plants. Pilot micro-concentrating solar power plants have been implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa and have shown promising results that could be expanded and leveraged for large-scale electricity generation. An assessment of a pilot concentrating solar power plant in the sub-region noticed one noteworthy obstacle that is the failure of the tracking system to reduce the operating energy cost of running the tracking control system and improve the multifaceted heliostat focusing behavior. This paper highlights the energy situation and the current development in concentrating solar power technology research in Africa. The paper also presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art solar tracking systems for central receiver systems to illustrate the current direction of research regarding the design of low-cost tracking systems in terms of computational complexity, energy consumption, and heliostat alignment accuracy.

Suggested Citation

  • Emmanuel Wendsongre Ramde & Eric Tutu Tchao & Yesuenyeagbe Atsu Kwabla Fiagbe & Jerry John Kponyo & Asakipaam Simon Atuah, 2020. "Pilot Low-Cost Concentrating Solar Power Systems Deployment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study of Implementation Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-14, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:15:p:6223-:d:393671
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/15/6223/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/15/6223/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bouhal, T. & Agrouaz, Y. & Kousksou, T. & Allouhi, A. & El Rhafiki, T. & Jamil, A. & Bakkas, M., 2018. "Technical feasibility of a sustainable Concentrated Solar Power in Morocco through an energy analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 1087-1095.
    2. Kribus, Abraham & Vishnevetsky, Irina & Yogev, Amnon & Rubinov, Tatiana, 2004. "Closed loop control of heliostats," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 905-913.
    3. Balghouthi, Moncef & Trabelsi, Seif Eddine & Amara, Mahmoud Ben & Ali, Abdessalem Bel Hadj & Guizani, Amenallah, 2016. "Potential of concentrating solar power (CSP) technology in Tunisia and the possibility of interconnection with Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1227-1248.
    4. Viebahn, Peter & Lechon, Yolanda & Trieb, Franz, 2011. "The potential role of concentrated solar power (CSP) in Africa and Europe--A dynamic assessment of technology development, cost development and life cycle inventories until 2050," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 4420-4430, August.
    5. Florinda Martins & Carlos Felgueiras & Miroslava Smitkova & Nídia Caetano, 2019. "Analysis of Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption and Environmental Impacts in European Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-11, March.
    6. World Bank, 2017. "The World Bank Annual Report 2017," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 27986.
    7. Jafrancesco, David & Cardoso, Joao P. & Mutuberria, Amaia & Leonardi, Erminia & Les, Iñigo & Sansoni, Paola & Francini, Franco & Fontani, Daniela, 2018. "Optical simulation of a central receiver system: Comparison of different software tools," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 792-803.
    8. Aly, Ahmed & Bernardos, Ana & Fernandez-Peruchena, Carlos M. & Jensen, Steen Solvang & Pedersen, Anders Branth, 2019. "Is Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) a feasible option for Sub-Saharan Africa?: Investigating the techno-economic feasibility of CSP in Tanzania," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 1224-1240.
    9. Ogunmodimu, Olumide & Okoroigwe, Edmund C., 2018. "Concentrating solar power technologies for solar thermal grid electricity in Nigeria: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 104-119.
    10. Mihoub, Sofiane & Chermiti, Ali & Beltagy, Hani, 2017. "Methodology of determining the optimum performances of future concentrating solar thermal power plants in Algeria," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 801-810.
    11. Belgasim, Basim & Aldali, Yasser & Abdunnabi, Mohammad J.R. & Hashem, Gamal & Hossin, Khaled, 2018. "The potential of concentrating solar power (CSP) for electricity generation in Libya," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 1-15.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aqachmar, Zineb & Allouhi, Amine & Jamil, Abdelmajid & Gagouch, Belgacem & Kousksou, Tarik, 2019. "Parabolic trough solar thermal power plant Noor I in Morocco," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 572-584.
    2. Wu, Yunna & Zhang, Buyuan & Wu, Chenghao & Zhang, Ting & Liu, Fangtong, 2019. "Optimal site selection for parabolic trough concentrating solar power plant using extended PROMETHEE method: A case in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 1910-1927.
    3. Islam, Md Tasbirul & Huda, Nazmul & Abdullah, A.B. & Saidur, R., 2018. "A comprehensive review of state-of-the-art concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies: Current status and research trends," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 987-1018.
    4. Damien Bazin & Nouri Chtourou & Amna Omri, 2019. "Risk management and policy implications for concentrating solar power technology investments in Tunisia," Post-Print hal-02061788, HAL.
    5. Sultan, Ali J. & Hughes, Kevin J. & Ingham, Derek B. & Ma, Lin & Pourkashanian, Mohamed, 2020. "Techno-economic competitiveness of 50 MW concentrating solar power plants for electricity generation under Kuwait climatic conditions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    6. Almaktar, Mohamed & Shaaban, Mohamed, 2021. "Prospects of renewable energy as a non-rivalry energy alternative in Libya," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    7. Hoz, Jordi de la & Martín, Helena & Montalà, Montserrat & Matas, José & Guzman, Ramon, 2018. "Assessing the 2014 retroactive regulatory framework applied to the concentrating solar power systems in Spain," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 1377-1399.
    8. Islam, Md Tasbirul & Huda, Nazmul & Saidur, R., 2019. "Current energy mix and techno-economic analysis of concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies in Malaysia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 789-806.
    9. Ephraim Bonah Agyekum & Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo & Festus Victor Bekun & Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar & Manoj Kumar Panjwani, 2021. "Effect of Two Different Heat Transfer Fluids on the Performance of Solar Tower CSP by Comparing Recompression Supercritical CO 2 and Rankine Power Cycles, China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-19, June.
    10. McPherson, Madeleine & Mehos, Mark & Denholm, Paul, 2020. "Leveraging concentrating solar power plant dispatchability: A review of the impacts of global market structures and policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    11. Gamil, Ahmed & Li, Peiwen & Ali, Babkir & Hamid, Mohamed Ali, 2022. "Concentrating solar thermal power generation in Sudan: Potential and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    12. Chen, Fuying & Yang, Qing & Zheng, Niting & Wang, Yuxuan & Huang, Junling & Xing, Lu & Li, Jianlan & Feng, Shuanglei & Chen, Guoqian & Kleissl, Jan, 2022. "Assessment of concentrated solar power generation potential in China based on Geographic Information System (GIS)," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    13. El Hamdani, Fayrouz & Vaudreuil, Sébastien & Abderafi, Souad & Bounahmidi, Tijani, 2021. "Determination of design parameters to minimize LCOE, for a 1 MWe CSP plant in different sites," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 1013-1025.
    14. Ghaithan, Ahmed & Hadidi, Laith & Mohammed, Awsan, 2024. "Techno-economic assessment of concentrated solar power generation in Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    15. Merchán, R.P. & Santos, M.J. & Medina, A. & Calvo Hernández, A., 2022. "High temperature central tower plants for concentrated solar power: 2021 overview," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    16. Al-Nimr, Moh’d A. & Al-Ammari, Wahib A., 2020. "A novel hybrid and interactive solar system consists of Stirling engine ̸vacuum evaporator ̸thermoelectric cooler for electricity generation and water distillation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 1053-1066.
    17. Viebahn, Peter & Daniel, Vallentin & Samuel, Höller, 2012. "Integrated assessment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the German power sector and comparison with the deployment of renewable energies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 238-248.
    18. Nawaz Edoo & Robert T. F. Ah King, 2021. "Techno-Economic Analysis of Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Plus Battery Power Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-22, December.
    19. Jānis Krūmiņš & Māris Kļaviņš, 2023. "Investigating the Potential of Nuclear Energy in Achieving a Carbon-Free Energy Future," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-31, April.
    20. GUPTA Monika, 2019. "Decomposing The Role Of Different Factors In Co2 Emissions Increase In South Asia," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 14(1), pages 72-86, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:15:p:6223-:d:393671. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.