Replacing conventional energy sources of electricity with solar energy in the UK and Iraq using statistical inference with hypothesis testing

Abstract

Solar power represents a vast resource which could, in principle meet the world’s needs for lowcarbon
power generation many times over. Recent growth in the use of photovoltaic (PV) technology
(of around 40% per year) and rapid reduction in its cost (20% per doubling of capacity) has
demonstrated the potential of solar power to deliver on a large scale. Energy is a vital resource
required for the operation of any business. Currently, the vast majority of businesses use electricity
derived for non-renewable fossil fuels, which are expected to run out at its current rate of expenditure
and causing substantial environmental damage threatening the future generations. In the UK and Iraq if the current energy source used by small and medium enterprises (SME’s) could be replaced by solar energy then damage to the environment can be prevented. Solar cells involve harnessing the energy from the sun to generate electricity and as such the amount of sunlight hours or solar insulation available in the country is of utmost importance. In this study a methodology has been developed to compare a model micro-business in the UK and Northern Iraq. The comparison shows that using statistically inference the different regions (latitudinally) in Northern Iraq have a reasonable constant supply of solar insulation compared with the U.K which shows that there is more variation and less solar insulation in the more northern regions of the country. Therefore, it is more feasible to replace the existing non-renewable fossil fuel sources with solar cells in all regions of Iraq than the U.K which requires further cost benefit considerations.