Performance Challenges of On-Grid Solar PV Power Plants in Emerging Markets: a Case of Botswana
Abstract
The rapid global transition to renewable energy has led to large-scale installations of various clean technologies, with solar PV dominating deployment capacity. However, emerging markets continue to encounter challenges despite having good resources. Performance analysis of existing systems is imperative for evidence-based decision making and effective integration of renewable energies. The study evaluated the performance of the Phakalane 1.3MW solar PV power plant in Gaborone, Botswana using the IEC 61724 standard. The main parameters assessed were the performance ratio (PR), capacity factor (CF), final yield, and the system efficiency which were found to be 50.5%, 13.11%, 1503.6MWh, and 6.76% respectively. Comparing these findings to the System Advisor Model (SAM) simulation (a final yield of 2296.7MWh, PR of 72%, CF of 19.9%) results indicated a 35% shortfall. This discrepancy was attributed to high ambient temperatures, inadequate local technical capacity, inadequate maintenance, grid unavailability, and weak monitoring systems. These findings highlight that performance challenges in emerging markets are technical as well as institutional. Recommendations for performance improvement include adopting module cooling and cleaning practices, integrating battery storage and inverter redundancy to increase plant availability, implementation of local capacity building initiatives, robust operation and maintenance practices, development of adequate monitoring infrastructure.
Keywords
renewable energy, solar PV, grid-connected PV power plants, performance analysis, IEC 61724, SAM