Techno-economic analysis of solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems using exergy analysis

Abstract

This paper assesses the technical and economic viability of a hybrid water-based mono-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) module in comparison with a conventional mc-Si photovoltaic (PV) module installed in Ghana. Analytical models are developed to analyze the technical and economic performance of the systems over a 25-year period. The study shows that although the PVT system is more expensive to setup, it generally performs better than the conventional PV system when both systems are installed with batteries. The estimated average yearly total exergy to load from PV and PVT sub-systems are respectively 159.42 kWh/m2 and 330.15 kWh/m2. The levelized cost of exergy (LCOEx) from the PV and PVT basic systems are US$ 0.45/kWh and US$ 0.33/kWh respectively for average peak sun hours (Sh) of 4.6 h (installation site). Varying Sh from 4.6 h to 6.5 h (northmost regions of Ghana) reduces the LCOEx for the PV and PVT systems by approximately 18% and 11% respectively. The PV system however becomes more economically viable than the PVT system when both systems are installed without batteries.