Economic viability of loan-financed urban residential solar PV systems with electric vehicle integration under Ghana's net billing scheme

The high upfront cost of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and unfavourable financial market conditions hinder their adoption in developing countries. This study evaluated the economic viability of loan-financed urban residential grid-tied solar PV systems with battery electric vehicle (BEV) charging, under Ghana's net billing scheme. The methodology integrates techno-economic simulation of a 10 kWp residential PV system using PV*SOL premium software with socio-economic data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS7). Key performance indicators, including levelised cost of energy (LCOE), payback period, annual savings, EV travel cost, debt-to-income ratio, and residual household income, were assessed across Ghana's 16 administrative regions. The results show that LCOE ranges from 0.407 to 0.483 USD/kWh, substantially exceeding the national residential grid tariff. BEV travel costs under PV charging range from 0.082 to 0.091 USD/km, higher than those under grid-based charging. Payback periods range from 12.0 to 14.1 years. High interest rates and short repayment terms result in household debt-to-income ratios ranging from 0.54 to 3.03 and residual household incomes ranging from -USD 9105.32 to USD 5990.94, exceeding acceptable thresholds for most households in low-income regions. Only households in high-income regions demonstrate limited loan repayment capacity. The findings indicate that, under current commercial loan conditions, financing residential PV systems with integrated BEV charging is economically unattractive for most urban households, underscoring the need for concessional financing and improved policy support.