One of the main challenges with Ghana’s energy sector is the supply of power to remote areas of the country. Most of the rural communities in Ghana, including Zuro-kpumi, a remote area located in Yendi, in the Northern part of Ghana, is off the grid due to financial constraints on the side of the government, the terrain and the economic status of such communities to afford electricity. This study tries to analyse the feasibility of a cost-effective hybrid solar PV-Genset power system for Zuro-kpumi, a small rural village, in the Northern part of Ghana. The hybrid solar PV system consists of Canadian Solar All-Black CS6K-290MS PV, ABB PSBatP3 Li-Ion battery, a generic 10 kW diesel generator and a generic system converter. The hybrid system lifetime is about 25 years. There is a projected cost reduction in electricity generated by solar PV in the next decade; making the overall cost of the hybrid PV-Genset system cheaper. Using a load profile, HOMER software and sensitivity analysis, this study was able to analyse various feasible systems from which the most costeffective system was chosen. The most feasible, costeffective system was found to be the PV-diesel-generator with a battery system. This study was able to determine the most feasible and cost-effective system for Zurokpumi.

Keywords : Clearness Index, Cost-Effective, HOMER Software, Hybrid PV-Genset, Optimization, Sensitivity Analysis.