Monitoring Results of a 10kwp On-Grid Photovoltaic System in the Context of the Current Regulation for Solar Rooftops in Indonesia

Abstract

To fulfil the Paris climate agreement, the Indonesian government aims to increase the share of renewable energy. New regulation for solar rooftops came into effect in January 2019 to give more security for investments in solar projects. However, for a majority of consumers, the implementation of the regulation and economical operation of a PV system brings many hurdles. A 10 kWp PV on-grid system at UKRIM University is monitored to gain information about energy data, return of investment (RoI) and levelized costs of energy (LCOE). Based on the monitoring results, three different consumer types (social institutions, residential buildings and offices) are analyzed with respect to profitability. For the PV installation at UKRIM, an RoI of 17 years is calculated. The LCOE is calculated as 0.08 USD/kWh and thus higher than the levelized feed-in price of only 0.076 USD/kWh. The current ten kWp PV system can offset 80% of the electricity demand of the building it is connected to. Nevertheless, the most economical size would be only seven kWp, showing that the most green (zero net energy) and the most economical system (fastest RoI) can differ greatly. The slow RoI makes a PV on-grid system economically not interesting for social tariffs. Though residential buildings and office buildings can achieve faster RoI, mainly because of higher electricity prices.