Abstract:
Electricity is one of the main requirements for sustainable development and the
improvement of living standards for different nations. Remote areas in Botswana depend in
the use of fossil fuels e.g., petrol, diesel and natural gas to produce electricity. However, the
villagers encounter high fuel price from buying fossil fuels. On the other side, combustion of
fuels creates air pollution that contributes to global warming which is accountable for
climate change and disastrous effects. This is a study that explores replacing the fossil fuel
used by a village shop in Majwanaadipitse, Botswana (22 ̊ 6 ̍ 50 ̋ S, 26 ̊ 53̍ 0 ̋ E) with an off-
grid PV system. This was done by designing, sizing, estimating the contribution to pollution
by the fossil fuels and costing an off-grid solar PV system. The estimated energy requirement
of a village shop was found to be 7.97 kWh/day. The design and sizing of the PV system
equipment’s depended on the estimated load. The proposed off-grid PV system required 5
PV modules each rated 330 W, 5 batteries each rated 100Ah, a charge controller and an
inverter. The system capacity of an off-grid PV system to be installed was 1.6kW. The
emitted pollution into the atmosphere to be avoided was found to be 2882 Kg of carbon
dioxide per year. The payback period of the PV system was estimated to be 2 years. The NPV
was also found to be favorable, showing that it is a profitable investment with a cost of P653
880. The study revealed that an off-grid PV electricity is technically and economically
feasible for electrifying a shop compared to the use of fossil fuels.