Life-cycle assessment of 5MW grid-connected photovoltaic system in east coast of Malaysia

Abstract

The technical and economic feasibility of photovoltaic (PV) power plants throughout their lifetime must be evaluated prior to their development and operation such that the sustainability of the project can be justified. This paper presents the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of energy and the LCA of economics for a 5 MW grid-connected photovoltaic (GCPV) power plant located in the East Coast of Malaysia. Firstly, an LCA of energy was conducted to evaluate the expected energy yield, energy payback period and energy return of investment throughout the project lifetime. Later, an LCA of economics was performed to determine several economic performance indicators such as the net present value, internal rate of return, payback period and return of investment.