An experimental investigation of a solar photovoltaic system: economic, environmental, and performance assessment

Authors

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kermanshah University of Technology, Kermanshah, Iran

2 Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering (SREE), College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

3 U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental study of a 10 kW grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system installed on the roof of a government building located in Ilam, Iran. The purpose of this study is threefold: firstly, to assess the quality of the electrical power generated by the system; secondly, to analyze the CO2 mitigation potential of the system; and thirdly, to investigate the economic viability of the system. The economic analysis of the system is performed considering three different scenarios. In the first and the second scenarios, it is assumed that the PV system is installed for complete self-consumption, while in the third scenario, it is supposed that the PV power plant is built to sell its generated electricity. Besides, the first and the second scenarios are based on the average retail electricity price of 5.79 cents of US dollars per kWh and 8.22 cents of US dollars per kWh, respectively, while the third scenario assumed that the government purchases the electricity generated by the power plant at a fixed rate of 21.33 cents of US dollar per kWh. Each scenario is assessed in two modes, with and without including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions credit.

References

[1] Snapshot of global PV markets 2017, International Energy Agency.
[2] Kazem H.A., Albadi M., Al-Waeli A.H., Al-Busaidi A.H., and Chaichan M.T., Techno-economic feasibility analysis of 1 MW photovoltaic grid-connected system in Oman. Case studies in thermal engineering, 2017. 10: p. 131-141.
[3] Al-Shamani A.N., Sopian K., Mat S., and Abed A.M., Performance enhancement of photovoltaic grid-connected system using PVT panels with nanofluid. Solar Energy, 2017. 150: p. 38-48.
[4] Anzalchi A. and Sarwat A., Overview of technical specifications for grid-connected photovoltaic systems. Energy Conversion and Management, 2017. 152: p. 312-327.
[5] de Lima L.C., de Araújo Ferreira L., and de Lima Morais F.H.B., Performance analysis of a grid connected photovoltaic system in northeastern Brazil. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2017. 37: p. 79-85.
[6] Wang H., Muñoz-García M.A., Moreda G., and Alonso-García M.C., Seasonal performance comparison of three grid connected photovoltaic systems based on different technologies operating under the same conditions. Solar Energy, 2017. 144: p. 798-807.
[7] Al Garni H.Z., Awasthi A., and Ramli M.A., Optimal design and analysis of grid-connected photovoltaic under different tracking systems using HOMER. Energy Conversion and Management, 2018. 155: p. 42-57.
[8] Wheeler E. and Desai M., Iran’s renewable energy potential. Middle East Institute. Jan, 2016. 26: p. 2016.
[9] Mirzahosseini A.H. and Taheri T., Environmental, technical and financial feasibility study of solar power plants by RETScreen, according to the targeting of energy subsidies in Iran. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 2012. 16(5): p. 2806-2811.
[10] Moshiri S., The effects of the energy price reform on households consumption in Iran. Energy Policy, 2015. 79: p. 177-188.
[11] Karegar H.K., Zahedi A., Ohisa V., and Khalaji M. in the Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC), . http://itee.uq.edu.au/∼aupec/aupec02/home.pdf [accessed 03.01.12].
[12] Iran Renewable Energy Organization (SUNA), http://www.suna.ir/homeen.html.
[13] Hosseini S.E., Andwari A.M., Wahid M.A., and Bagheri G., A review on green energy potentials in Iran. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 2013. 27: p. 533-545.
[14] A report on: National Carbon Dioxide Price Forecast: Spring 2016, http://www.synapse-energy.com/.
[15] Mitscher M. and Rüther R., Economic performance and policies for grid-connected residential solar photovoltaic systems in Brazil. Energy Policy, 2012. 49: p. 688-694.
[16] Bhandari R. and Stadler I., Grid parity analysis of solar photovoltaic systems in Germany using experience curves. Solar Energy, 2009. 83(9): p. 1634-1644.
[17] Dincer I., Rosen M.A., and Ahmadi P., Optimization of energy systems2017: John Wiley & Sons.
[18] Alirahmi S.M., Mousavi S.B., Razmi A.R., and Ahmadi P., A comprehensive techno-economic analysis and multi-criteria optimization of a compressed air energy storage (CAES) hybridized with solar and desalination units. Energy Conversion and Management, 2021. 236: p. 114053.
[19] Bernal-Agustín J.L. and Dufo-López R., Economical and environmental analysis of grid connected photovoltaic systems in Spain. Renewable Energy, 2006. 31(8): p. 1107-1128.
[20] Karimi M.H., Chitgar N., Emadi M.A., Ahmadi P., and Rosen M.A., Performance assessment and optimization of a biomass-based solid oxide fuel cell and micro gas turbine system integrated with an organic Rankine cycle. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020. 45(11): p. 6262-6277.
[21] Branker K., Pathak M., and Pearce J.M., A review of solar photovoltaic levelized cost of electricity. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 2011. 15(9): p. 4470-4482.
[22] Darling S.B., You F., Veselka T., and Velosa A., Assumptions and the levelized cost of energy for photovoltaics. Energy & Environmental Science, 2011. 4(9): p. 3133-3139.
[23] Ocampo M.T., How to Calculate the Levelized Cost of Energy-a Simplified Ap‐proach. Energy Technology Expert, 2009. 28.
[24] United states Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/greenhouse-gases.
[25] Bernow S. and Marron D., Valuation of environmental externalities for energy planning and operations [Internet]. Boston;[cited 2015 Sep 10], 1990.
[26] World Energy Outlook 2016 Part: B Special Focus on Renewables, https://www.iea.org.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics