The potential of the rooftop grid-connected PV systems in Benghazi

The ever growing energy demands and the negative environmental impacts associated with the global warming have pushed the policy makers toward adopting renewable energy sources. Libya is one of the countries that recently struggles to satisfy its energy demand, although, the country has a high potential for solar energy. In this paper, we investigate the technical and economic feasibility of rooftop grid-connected PV systems in Libya. Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya has been selected for the case study. The total rooftop area for Benghazi has been estimated using the manual selection method. The rooftops in Benghazi are very suitable for PV installation. From the estimated area the expected PV electricity production is calculated. A feasibility study for grid-connected PV system is carried out. The rooftop grid-connected PV in Benghazi can generate 3.63 TWh which is around 10% of the Libyan electricity demands. This study can be used for the decision makers as an initial assessment for future grid-connected PV systems installation.