Abstract
New installed annual solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity was equal to 76.1 GW in 2016 (+49%), reaching the total of 305 GW around the world. PV sources are able to achieve a greater energy independence, to tackle the climate change and to promote economic opportunities. This work proposes an economic analysis based on well-known indicators: Net Present Value (NPV), Discounted Payback Time (DPBT) and Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). Several case studies are evaluated for residential households. They are based on three critical variables: plant size (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 kW), levels of insolation (1350, 1450 and 1550 kWh/(m2×y)) and share of self-consumption (30%, 40% and 50%). The profitability is verified in all case studies examined in this work. The role of self-consumption, that is the harmonization between demanded and produced energy, is strategic in a mature market to improve financial performance. A sensitivity analysis, based on both electricity purchase and sales prices (critical variables), confirms these positive results. The Reduction in the Emissions of Carbon Dioxide (ERcd) signifies an environmental improvement when a PV system is used as an alternative to a mix of fossil fuels. Finally, a policy proposal is examined based on a fiscal deduction of 50% fixing the period of deduction equal to 5 years.
Highlights
The Energy Union Framework Strategy set out the ambition to move away from an economy dependent on fossil fuels [1]
The sustainability of PV source is a popular topic in literature [7,8] and the growth of this resource is impressive in the last years
This paper evaluates the profitability of a photovoltaic system for residential households
Summary
The Energy Union Framework Strategy set out the ambition to move away from an economy dependent on fossil fuels [1]. The share of renewables reached 16.7% of the gross final energy consumption of the European Union in 2015 (this indicator is equal to 20% in the Europe 2020 strategy). European countries agreed on a new 2030 Framework on climate and energy, in which is defined to reach at least 27% by 2030 [2]. The widespread development of renewable energy sources (RESs) is mainly driven by the aim to contrast the climate change and the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in addition to the reduction of energy dependency that characterizes most European countries [3,4,5]. The power installed capacity in 2016 is very low (1%) compared with that installed in China
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