MODELLING SUITABLE SITES FOR SOLAR HARVESTING IN RURAL AREAS OF KENYA: A CASE STUDY OF KIBWEZI EAST AND WEST SUB COUNTIES

Abstract

Project implementors in the PV solar farm space have long relied on very little analysis as regards site selection of solar farms is concerned. This in part has been attributed to the fact that small scale solar farm projects requiring relatively low investment costs have been the investment vehicle of choice in the past. With the ongoing need to develop, utility-scale PV solar farms are fast becoming a viable investment vehicle to deliver this valuable resource to even the most rural of communities. Site selection has a direct impact on the power performance of the solar farm, economic and social aspects, as well as existing and future infrastructure. Selecting the best site therefore requires a multi-faceted approach. In this study, an attempt is made to model suitable sites for solar PV farms using restriction factors categorized as climatic factors, topographic factors, and location factors. Taking Kibwezi West and Kibwezi East sub counties as study area, several parameters are evaluated using the analytical hierarchy process. The parameters used are broken down into three (3). These are: Climatic Factors comprising of Solar Radiation and Temperature, Topographic factors comprising of Aspect, Location factors comprising of Land Use/ Land Cover, Slope, and road access. Weighting of parameters is carried out through a process that involves collecting parameter comparison data from respondents in the form of a questionnaire and using the collected data in a pairwise comparison to come up with weights. Reclassification of data and overlay analysis is then carried out in GIS environment. The resultant suitability map has shown areas that are considered on a scale from most suitable to not suitable. The generated map exposes an area of 3,172.8km2 area as highly suitable, 904.8km2 area as moderately suitable, 169.0km2 area as marginally suitable and 3.4km2 area as not suitable.