Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Barbara Sturm
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
© 2021 The AuthorsThis study presents a methodological framework for auditing, optimization as well as the integration of hybridized solar energy in Ghana's agro-industrial sector. The Functional Analysis System Technique was introduced for systematically translating plant-wide energy requirements into detailed functional and performance design criteria for energy efficiency, optimization, and solar energy integration. The results of the case study indicated that insulating the fermenter and distiller as well as using energy-efficient rasper, pumps and cables reduced energy consumption by 41.8%. The cost of integrating solar thermal energy was 31.8% higher than solar photovoltaic power due to a lack of subsidies in the sector. A 250 kW solar photovoltaic model was designed with a performance ratio of 75% and a solar hot water system with a thermal fraction of 91% for electricity and process water respectively. The framework, therefore, presents an invaluable tool for optimizing energy efficiency and integrating solar thermal and solar photovoltaic energy sources for the agro-industrial sector.
Author(s): Amo-Aidoo A, Hensel O, Korese JK, Abunde Neba F, Sturm B
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Energy Reports
Year: 2021
Volume: 7
Pages: 1501-1519
Print publication date: 01/11/2021
Online publication date: 18/03/2021
Acceptance date: 02/03/2021
Date deposited: 29/03/2021
ISSN (electronic): 2352-4847
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2021.03.008
DOI: 10.1016/j.egyr.2021.03.008
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric