An Analytical Feasibility Study for Solar Panel Installation in Qatar Based on Generated to Consumed Electrical Energy Indicator

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to establish analytical feasibility for the deployment of solar panels in Qatar houses and other organisations; to calculate, by the use of analytical means, solar panel deployment scenarios with different panel sizes, efficiency, and sun per day, in order to estimate generated energy and compare that with actual consumption over a period of twelve months. In addition, the study aims to provide a comparative indicator on the ratio of generated energy to consumed energy and consumed electrical energy (GtoC), to establish the possibility of using the GtoC ratio as a new renewable energy rating index, for use in renewable energy investment and sales forecasting, in maintaining comparisons between different installation scenarios, and in upgrade planning and decision making. This study’s analytical solutions might be correlated with data from in situ solar panel installation scenarios in order to fully establish the performance under operational scenarios. The study will be beneficial to support roadmaps to foster solar panel deployment in Qatar, through demonstrating scenarios that can enable economic and environmental incentives. In addition, the study can be useful for other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states with similar weather and economic conditions. Moreover, GtoC indicator can be used as a new source of data to establish a data-driven model for suitable clean energy projects.