Viability of grid-connected domestic solar photovoltaic systems in South Africa

South Africa like most countries in the world has scarcity of electrical energy. Demand is becoming greater than available capacity of power supply. This has promulgated lots of research in generation capacity enhancement. Climate change pressure has also resulted in research going into alternative sources of power production. Extensive efforts are being made to reduce the country´s intense reliance on coal and hence environmental impact by energy sector. This paper stems from the same objective. It looks at domestic solar photovoltaic as one alternative source of energy to supply residential areas. The questions to be answered are: whether this is a feasible approach and what design options can be considered. Solar data will be used to calculate energy potential in kilowatt hours. Using load profile data for Cape Town, estimations of viable design options will be determined. This analysis is done in HOMER software. At the moment solar PV (photovoltaic) is expensive especially when it is off grid. Lately, research has been directed into integrating of solar PV to the grid so that the two systems can supplement each other. Energy from the grid will be used when there is no solar radiation available. During the days when there is abundant radiation and excess power is generated, homeowners can supply power to the national grid. The sell-back plan will help the utility to increase their capacity. It will also shorten the payback period of homeowners´ capital investment. While there seems to be perks around solar PV, there are also some technical, economic and political issues surrounding this technology. The paper will not dwell more on technical and political issues. More focus is on an economic feasibility study that proposes feasible design approaches.