Optimization of Solar Energy Technologies For Sustainable Power Supply in Enugu State.

The poor supply of electricity is accountable for slow pace of development. Over the years, mankind has relied on non renewable sources of energy for electric power generation. In quest for alternative sources of energy that could be renewable, sustainable, environment friendly, pollution free and above all, energy that could meet the demand of the whole world, solar energy system emerged. This study was conducted to determine the strategies for optimization of solar energy for sustainable power supply in Enugu State. The population for the study was 108 which comprised of 37 technicians and 71 technologists from solar firms in Enugu State. Due to manageable size, there was no sampling. Three research questions were raised and answered using mean and standard deviation while hypotheses formulated were tested using t-test at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design while data were collected using a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher. The instrument was validated by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach's alpha which gave a high co-efficient index of 0.87. Some of the findings among others included that automatic solar tracker can assist to a great extent in the optimization of solar energy for sustainable power supply in Enugu State; solar module system design can assist in optimization of solar energy for sustainable power to a great extent. It was therefore recommended that modification of solar system component as to integrate shade tolerance software is required by engineers, manufacturers, technicians and technologists so as to expand solar market worldwide; more awareness should be created on solar system components as to enable technicians and technologists to understand the benefits of the application of automatic solar tracker for the optimization of solar energy for sustainable power supply in Enugu State.