Financing options for solar photovoltaic deliverables in developing countries: Case study Ghana

The increases in electricity tariffs as well as the unreliability of the supply of electricity have brought untold hardship to the populace in Ghana. However, Ghana’s geographic location creates an opportunity for an alternative solution from the use of the solar photovoltaic unit (solar PV). Nonetheless, the very expensive initial cost of acquiring a solar PV unit is of con-cern. This thesis seeks to explore various financing options for solar PV deliverables in developing countries with a focus on Ghana. The research question set forth to investigate these options is: what are the financing options available for solar photovoltaic deliverables in developing countries with Ghana as a case study? The objectives of the study include identifying the types of financing options available in Ghana and analyzing the merits and demits of the options available in Ghana. More so, identifying the best option(s) suitable for the financing of solar PV in Ghana, and detecting barriers to implementing the best option(s) in Ghana. The method utilized includes collecting relevant data from 96 solar PV companies as well as 100 business and household customers. The questionnaire was sent via google forms. These questionnaires were to help understand the various financing options available and in use by solar PV companies in Ghana in promoting the acquisition of solar PV deliverables in Ghana and to understand the best options viable for adoption going forward. The response rate was as follows; 71 responses from the 96 solar PV companies while out of 100 businesses and household customers, some 52 responded From the results, it was obvious that solar companies in Ghana were aware and to some extent uses some financing options like green loans, leasing, revolving funds, credit co-operative, personal installment, and bank loans. Nonetheless, the popularity of personal installments presented itself as the best option for consideration. This research also, discovered that despite the popularity of that option, frequent defaults on payment made it unattractive to the solar PV businesses thus their preference for outright payment. Green loans are also a preferred and viable option. The research also established that for the popular financing option in Ghana to work effectively, there was the need to include a net-metering system for off-grid solutions to facilitate strict adherence to a pay-as-you-use approach