INTRODUCTION

Background and Justification

Energy production and consumption are the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the World                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         (Iansiti & Niehaus, 1989 ; European Environment Agency, 2008) this is because  global energy demand is increasing to fulfill the growing human population needs, with fosil fuels being the most dominant energy source of about 80% of energy demand (Mohan, 2018). Conventional or non-renewable energy sources notably coal, petrol and diesel (Herzog et al., 2001) have contributed significantly to global electricity generation, however, they have also contributed to an increase in pollution in the world and a deterioration of human health. In 2013,  global carbon emissions from fossil fuel usage stood at 32.2 billion tons, which is almost 56.1% above the emission level in 1990 and 2.3% in 2012 (Alferidi, 2018). The rising costs of fossil fuels, global warming, and severe weather conditions have compelled many nations to look into alternative sources of energy in order to reduce reliance on fossil-based fuels (Kannan and Vakeesan, 2016; Kabir et al., 2018). In this light, renewable energy which are easily recycled over time, (Thoubboron, 2018)  have been the center of all talks in the energy sector (Turkenburg et al., 2012).

Renewable energy sources are energy sources formed from solar, geophysical or biological sources that are replenished by natural processes at a rate that equals or exceeds its rate of use examples are biomass, hydropower, geothermal, solar and wind energy (Herzog et al., 2001). They have a huge potential of providing energy services for the world as well as meeting the world’s energy demands (Remote Energy, 2021). The energy from renewable sources originates from either solar radiation, geothermal heat or gravitational energy and the energy that flows from these sources on earth is abundant (Turkenburg et al., 2012). The sun is the earth`s power station and the source of all energy on our planet and it is that energy source that sustains life on earth for all plants, animals and people thus solar energy emerges as one of the most promising renewable sources of energy currently being used globally for meeting rising demands of electric power (Nalladhimmu & Priyadarshini, 2018). It is one of the major, abundant, free and most readily available source of energy (Dickinson, 2018) which provides a compelling solution for all societies to meet their present and future energy needs. The proportion of the sun’s rays that reaches the earth’s surface is enough to provide for global energy consumption 10,000 times over (Rhodes, 2010). On average, each square meter of land is exposed to enough sunlight to produce 1,700 kWh of power every year. Solar energy that reaches the earth’s surface is 1016 watts meanwhile total worldwide energy demand is 1013 watts (Elayadevan et al., 2020). This energy can be used for heating, cooking, drying and generating electricity (Vanderhulst et al., 1990).

Harnessing solar energy requires the use of photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are devices used to generate electricity directly from sunlight through a process known as the photovoltaic effect (Irizarry et al., 2014). These PV cells are made of semiconductors that generates an electric current when exposed to light. Solar cell technology has been developing rapidly, leading to great improvements in solar cell efficiency and  electricity generation through PV sources and is being increasingly recognized as cost-effective for both small and large electric power systems (Adib et al., 2015). An annual report published by Solar Power in Europe presenting the statistics of installed PV capacity in various regions of the world shows that total PV capacity has increased exponentially from 100 GW in 2012 to 229.9 GW in 2015 to 306.5 GW in 2016 to 358 GW by the end of 2017. The global installed PV capacity was expected to exceed 400 GW in 2018, 500 GW in 2019, 600 GW in 2020 and 700 GW in 2021 (Alferidi, 2018).

 Photovoltaic  technology has evolved as the major renewable power resource in the worldwide green energy sector to meet the future challenge of energy needs (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems & PSE Projects GmbH, 2022). The main barrier for the commercialization of this technology which is even estimated to contribute about 20% of the global energy supply by 2050 is the poor performance and stability of the PV modules in the outdoor climate. Currently solar panels that are used for domestic purposes are able to absorb only about 20 percent of sunlight that they receive and transform it into electricity but there exist other forms of solar cells that are capable of having an efficient rating of 40 percent. One of the greatest things about solar technology is the fact that research in the field are constantly being made, raising the overall quality and efficiency. It is expected that the efficiency of solar panel will increase with further research and development. Similarly as these aspects increase, the prices of solar panels are expected to reduce making them available to a much wider range of people.

Problem Statement

Energy is very vital for a good standard of living. Cameroon has an abundant reserve of energy resources such as crude oil, natural gas, hydropower, biomass, solar, wind and geothermal energies. However, these renewable energy resources like solar energy are still weakly valorised. Affordable and adequate sources of power that do not cause climate change or pollution are renewable energy sources. The country relies mainly on hydropower energy for electricity generation with persistent power outages throughout the country especially in the dry seasons when water levels are low (Enow-arrey, 2020). The access to electricity is about 65–88% in urban areas and around 14% for rural populations. Cameroon has experienced a strong economic growth (growth rate of 5.9% in 2015) accompanied by a rapid increase in electricity demand (1455 MW in 2014). Electricity needs were expected to continue rising over the next decades to reach 5000 MW by 2020 and 6000 MW by 2030. The proportion of the sun’s rays that reach the earth’s surface is enough to provide for global energy consumption 10,000 times over (Dickinson, 2018). Cameroon has a very rich potential in renewable energy resource with the average solar irradiance  estimated between 4.9-5.8 kWh/day/m² (REEEP, 2012). Cameroon is experiencing energy shortages due to rapidly increasing population and economic growth. Solar energy is one of the renewable sources of energy with lots of advantages such as; fuel source for solar panel is direct and endless so no external fuel is required, sunlight is free so no cost required to gain access, long lifespan of solar modules, fast response and high reliability, pollution free, minimum maintenance, Noise-free as there are no moving parts amongst others (Ranabhat et al., 2016).

Despite the numerous advantages solar energy presents, many have shyed away from its access due to the following reasons; firstly, solar cell assembly technology has not been fully adopted and mastered in Cameroon as a result most panels used for solar installations are imported, its fragile and cumbersome nature makes it very expensive and unaffordable by inhabitants both in the rural and urban milieu. Secondly most of these panels do not respect their characteristics as a result they potray faulty characteristics which makes it less efficient as expected. Moreover, environmental pollution not only degrades the atmosphere but also destroys the land, rivers, and streams. The most alarming is the current global concerns on environmental pollution from conventional energy development, which significantly contributes to the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and hence the threat of global climate change. Solar panel technology directly reduces greenhouse gas emissions while contributing to sustainable development by reducing local pollutants (Pallav and Axel, 2008). All these concerns necessitate the assembly of panels from local materials. This local assembly will significantly reduce reliance on  conventional energy sources if only the locally assembled solar panels can be less costly and efficient. In this study, we locally assembled solar cells to produce solar panels and evaluated their performance in energy production.

Research Question

Main Research Question

The main research question is ‘Can efficient solar panels be assembled using local materials in Cameroon?’

Secondary research questions are;

• How can solar panels be assembled from local materials in Cameroon?
  • How can the performance of the assembled solar panels be ascertained?
  • Are the locally assembled solar panels efficient in energy production?

Objectives

Main objectives

The main objective of this study is evaluate the performance of locally assembled PV cells in Cameroon.

Specific objectives

The specific objectives of the study are to:

• Assemble solar cells from local materials to produce solar modules.
• Construct a data logger to collect data from the locally assembled solar panel.
• Access the performance of the locally assembled panel.

Importance of the study

The study is to provide information on an efficient method to harness solar energy with the use of locally assembled panels for domestic and industrial solar system installations in Cameroon. This locally assembled panels are both important to man and environment.

• This project uses a renewable source of energy that uses solar radiations to produce electrical energy, and it will save the environment by decreasing the CO₂ emission caused by the use of fuel generators.
• Cameroon vision is to encourage people to use more renewable energy technologies, and this project is matching the long-term view of the government when it comes to the use of such technologies.
• Economically, the annual cost of buying fuel generators, paying electricity bills or importing prefabricated solar panels that do not correspond to consumer’s energy needs for different domestic and industrial purposes would decrease since local materials will be used to assemble solar cells that correspond to consumers energy needs.
• In order to easily implement a solar panel assembly plan, the locally assembled panel should be less expensive because of the inhabitant’s financial situation as they cannot afford the prefabricated imported panel. That is why our project evaluated the performance of locally available material used for the assembly.
• Importation of faulty panels will be reduced.