Stand-alone PV System Assessment for Major Cities of Pakistan Based on Simulated Results: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Pakistan is suffering from acute shortage of electricity and fuel that has adversely affected its industrial and agricultural progress in-spite of having ~2.9 million MW power potential can be harnessed from solar radiations. This paper aims on the study of technical and economic feasibility of stand-alone PV system in major cities of Pakistan. Current study is based on the results obtained by virtual modeling of a 5kW stand-alone PV System in RETScreen software developed by Canadian Energy Centre. The role of solar irradiance value, load correlation and ambient conditions are closely compared. A built in database in RETScreen uses climate information for simulation of PV system reported by National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Modeled system viability is examined on financial parameters like net present value, internal rate of return and payback period. The simulation results indicate that stand-alone PV system application can save millions being spent on conventional fuel purchasing to deliver base case power. These results demonstrate the feasibility of PV system in a realistic manner thus enlightening its benefits.