Abstract
The economic and social development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has led to a rapid increase in the consumption of electricity, with the residential sector consuming approximately 50% of total electricity production. The KSA depends largely on non-renewable energy resources, and the government has produced Saudi Vision 2030. This plan aims to lessen the country’s reliance on fossil fuels and reduce associated problems such as air pollution. Saudi Vision 2030 combines renewable energy and new building designs so that, for example, the planned city of Neom will be net zero energy. This study addresses how best to reduce Neom’s reliance on the national grid through rooftop photovoltaic generation in residential buildings. The study develops a techno-economic model of rooftop PV with battery storage suitable for existing residential building types likely to be built in Neom city (villas, traditional houses, and apartments), and assesses the optimal PV size, battery storage capacity, and optimal orientation of the PV panels. The study used HOMER Pro to compute the Net Present Cost, Levelized Cost of Energy, orientation of PV panels, and optimum PV system size. The optimal size of PV system is 14.0 kW for the villa, 11.1 kW for the traditional dwelling, and 10.3 kW for the apartment, each with a single battery of capacity 12 kWh.
Highlights
The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) is responsible for electricity generation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), with an installed power production capacity that increased from 1141 MW in 1975 to 46 GW in 2010
The focus was on three main categories: topographical location parameters, design of PV system, and load profile for different types of residential building as shown in Figure 1 actual data were input into the HOMER Pro software (3.13.8 Version)
Are good cost comparison indicators for solar rooftop PV systems with battery storage and return on investment (ROI), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and DPBP are used to measure their financial profitability which might vary by different dwelling types
Summary
The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) is responsible for electricity generation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), with an installed power production capacity that increased from 1141 MW in 1975 to 46 GW in 2010. To meet the expected demand, new sources are necessary, and renewable energy including PV power systems are an obvious choice to be considered due to high solar direct normal irradiation (DNI). In 2018, according to the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center, residential, commercial, and government buildings consume about 80% of overall power generation, with residential buildings consuming 50% due to a high cooling demand [3]. The KSA government drew up a plan to reduce reliance on oil and gas by diversification of energy supplies.
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