Study on Performance of Rooftop Solar Power Generation Combined with Battery Storage at Office Building in Northeast Region, Vietnam

Abstract

At present, renewable energy sources are considered to ensure energy security and combat climate change. Vietnam has a high potential for solar power development, especially in the central region and the southern region. However, the northeast region has the lowest solar radiation value, so it can cause difficulty for rooftop solar power investment. In this paper, the study results analyze the financial efficiency of the grid-tied rooftop solar power system with battery storage and compared it to the grid-tied rooftop solar power system without battery storage. The experimental data of a grid-tied solar power system with battery storage at an office building in the northeast region of Vietnam is collected to evaluate the system’s operation performance in real conditions. The study results present that the financial efficiency of rooftop grid-tied power project with and without storage is viable since the benefit-cost ratio (B–C) is larger than one, and internal rate of return (IRR) and net present value (NPV) are positive. However, the grid-tied rooftop solar power system with storage is not quite feasible in case of changing the electricity selling price and investment cost even though the grid-tied solar power system using the storage device can operate more flexibly. The payback period of the grid-tied solar power system with storage is 6.2 years longer and the total profit is nearly 1.9 times lower than the solar power system without battery storage due to the difference in the price of the inverters and the battery. In contrast, the grid-tied solar power system without battery storage shows better financial efficiency but strongly depends on the operation of the utility grid.