Assessment of solar energy potential for Bahir Dar city, Ethiopia

Abstract

The world’s energy consumption is being replaced by renewable energies in large part because of the depletion of fossil fuels and the acceleration of environmental change. This study reports the amount of inward solar radiation in the date range from January 2018 to December 2022 in the Gregorian Calendar for certain areas in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia: 37°E and 11.6°N. On the horizontal surface of the case area, the month with the highest global radiation (monthly average daily) is March, at approximately 42.56 MJ/m2. day; June has the lowest diffuse radiation, at 16.2 MJ/m2.day. Furthermore, April had the most global radiation (monthly average hourly) on the horizontal surface, measuring 9.09 MJ/m2.hour, while June had the lowest diffuse radiation, measuring 2.3 MJ/m2.hour. In addition, this study predicts the beam, diffuse, and total radiation on the tilted collector using the total available horizontal radiation on a monthly and hourly basis. According to the research, the output of the radiation on the tilted surface towards the equator in the northern hemisphere, azimuth angle, γ = 0°, shows that the highest possible total radiation (monthly average daily) is 48.3 MJ/m2. day (January) and the highest possible total radiation (monthly average hourly) in February, 9.14 MJ/m2.hour at 1:00 p.m.