Introducing PV Grid-Parity to Yemen Power System Experimental, Feasibility, and Environmental Studies

Abstract

In 2015, the United Nations imposed an embargo on the de facto governing authority in Yemen, coinciding with the escalation of the civil war. This development had a profound adverse impact on the national power sector. Prior to the conflict, the city of Sana’a was predominantly supplied by the National Grid. Following the imposition of the embargo, however, electricity provision effectively ceased as a consequence of acute fuel shortages and the physical destruction of key components of the transmission and distribution infrastructure.  In response, residential consumers and other electricity users increasingly turned to alternative power supply options. Among these, photovoltaic (PV) systems emerged as the most economically competitive, commercially accessible, and environmentally sustainable solution. This shift led to a rapid expansion of the market for PV Solar Home Systems (SHS). In the medium to long term, Yemen’s power system is expected not only to be restored to its pre-conflict configuration but also to expand its capacity to accommodate rising electricity demand from households and other consumer categories. Under such a scenario, the aggregate installed PV capacity from SHS—potentially reaching several hundred megawatts (MW)—could be incorporated into the power demand-side trading market. Within this context, the adoption of Grid-Parity practices would likely be both economically viable and environmentally advantageous. This study presents experimental, techno-economic, and environmental analyses related to the deployment of PV-based Grid-Parity in Sana’a, Yemen. The economic feasibility was evaluated using the widely recognized Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) methodology. The LCOE outcomes, derived from a combination of experimental data and analytical calculations, indicate a high degree of viability for the implementation of Grid-Parity in the case study area. Furthermore, the paper assesses the environmental implications of achieving Grid-Parity, demonstrating a substantial potential reduction in CO₂ emissions, and advocates for the use of Carbon Pricing Instruments as a policy mechanism to accelerate the large-scale deployment of Grid-Parity solutions.