Abstract
Further increases in the number of photovoltaic installations in industry and residential buildings will require technologically and economically flexible energy storage solutions. Some countries utilize net-metering strategies, which use national networks as “virtual batteries.” Despite the financial attractiveness, net-metering faces many technological and economical challenges. It could also lead to the negative tendencies in prosumer behavior, such as a decrease in motivation for the self-consumption of photovoltaic (PV)-generated electricity. Batteries, which are installed on the prosumer’s premises, could be a solution in a particular case. However, the price for battery-based storage solutions is currently sufficiently unattractive for the average prosumer. This paper aimed to present a comparison of the economic and energy related aspects between net-metering and batteries for a single case study by considering the Lithuanian context. The net present value, degree of self-sufficiency, internal rate of return, payback time, and quantified reduction of carbon emission were calculated using a specially developed Prosumer solution simulation tool (Version 1.1, Delloite, Madrid, Spain) for both the PV and net-metering and PV and batteries cases. The received results highlight that the battery-based energy storage systems are currently not an attractive alternative in terms of price where net-metering is available; a rather radical decrease in the installation price for batteries is required.
Highlights
Photovoltaics has become a field with a very rapid development due to the possibility of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions during electricity production, the reduction of the dependence on fossil fuels, and as a result, an increase in a country’s energy security and growth of new jobs
A surplus of electricity produced by the PV plant should be supplied to the grid or stored in house using energy storage technologies, such as batteries [2] and battery and supercapacitor combinations [3], or approaches such as power-to-gas could be used in urban areas [4]
If the payback time must be less than 10 years, the optimal PV power capacity was in the range of 100–200 kW
Summary
Photovoltaics has become a field with a very rapid development due to the possibility of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions during electricity production, the reduction of the dependence on fossil fuels, and as a result, an increase in a country’s energy security and growth of new jobs. Lots of different economical mechanisms, such as feed in tariffs, net-metering, and net purchase and sale, have been developed all around the world to support photovoltaic (PV) penetration in the energy market [1]. A surplus of electricity produced by the PV plant should be supplied to the grid or stored in house using energy storage technologies, such as batteries [2] and battery and supercapacitor combinations [3], or approaches such as power-to-gas could be used in urban areas [4]. Energies 2020, 13, 2286 the increase of capabilities to use the produced electricity for self-demands and with the connection of PV technology to the proper energy storage solutions. The in house batteries or net-metering schemes could be excellent solutions to support further photovoltaics penetration; both options have clear economic and technological challenges [5]
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