Impact of Incentives and System Efficiency on the Life Cycle Cost of Photovoltaic Systems

Abstract

The solar photovoltaic (PV) market has experienced unprecedented growth over the past decade. Europe leads the PV market while the US lags behind. While the feed-in tariff (FIT) mechanism, a performance-based solar energy incentive scheme, is popular in Europe, the US has been devising capacity-based incentive programs. A capacity-based incentive scheme includes tax credits, state and local rebate programs, and even property tax credits. It helps in reducing the large, upfront cost which is considered as one of the barriers of quickly deploying solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the US and in some high solar resource states. The other concern is the aggregate unit price which is a measure in evaluating the investment of solar PV systems. The study applies the life cycle cost analysis method to analyze the feasibility and affordability of deploying residential PV systems in the United States, especially Florida. It helps potential users to determine the most economical PV system, in terms of upfront cost and aggregate unit cost, based on household income, incentive rebate programs, and the efficiency of the PV system. This research explores the impact of economic and technical factors on the affordability and feasibility of grid-connected solar PV systems.