The modelled solar radiation pattern of Ghana: Its prospects for alternative energy source

Abstract

Solar radiation has many values as it is a driving energy for weather and climate, enhances Ghana’s socio-economic landscape and can be used to generate electricity. In order for solar radiation to be used to generate electricity, we need to know its intensity on daily and monthly basis. To make this data possible would require erecting a sufficiently dense network of sophisticated radiometric stations that comes with substantial resource investment far beyond the benefits generally obtained. By ‘tuning’ a computer interactive model put together in Geophysical Institute at the University of Bergen to include aerosol, the solar radiation pattern of Ghana was estimated. The result showed that the monthly total global radiation is higher during the dry season than the rainy season, and also it is higher in northern than southern Ghana. And to collect maximum solar radiation to generate electricity, solar collectors in Ghana need to be placed horizontally facing east. Key words: Weather and climate, socio-economic, electricity, tuning, model, global radiation.