Abstract
This paper presents a techno-economic feasibility evaluation for a grid-connected photovoltaic energy conversion system on the rooftop of a typical residential building in Jeddah, one of the major cities in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, electric energy consumption is the highest in the domestic sector, with 48.1% of the total electricity consumption. As the power generation in Saudi Arabia mainly relies on conventional resources, environmental pollution and energy sustainability are major concerns. To minimize these issues, the Saudi government is in the process of maximizing the utilization of renewable energy resources for power generation. Investing in solar energy in Saudi Arabia is important because the country is witnessing a rapid increase in load demand, with annual growth rates of 6%. In this paper, the system advisor model software for renewable energy modeling has been utilized to perform a techno-economic feasibility analysis of a residential grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) system, which is proposed for a typical apartment in Saudi Arabia, on the basis of various key performance indicators, namely: yield factor, capacity factor, performance ratio, levelized cost of energy, net present value, internal rate of return, and payback period. A sensitivity analysis that investigates the impact of varying techno-economic parameters on system performance and feasibility is also discussed. The size of the PV system for a typical Saudi Arabian apartment is estimated to be 12.25 kW. Results have shown that the proposed system can generate 87% of the electricity needs of an apartment. The technical analysis showed that the capacity factor and the performance ratio were 22% and 78% respectively. The levelized cost of energy and net present value revealed competitive figures of 0.0382 $/kWh and $4378, respectively. The investigations indicate that residential PV installations are an effective option for energy management in the country.
Highlights
Conventional fuels utilized to generate electricity have negative potential impacts on the environment [1]
The installed conventional power generation capacity in Saudi Arabia is the largest compared to other countries in the Middle East, with a total capacity of 88,685 MW of power generation in 2017
This study revealed that Bisha is the most suitable site for installing a 10 MW grid-connected PV (GCPV) system due to its long sunshine hours and high amount of solar irradiance
Summary
Conventional fuels utilized to generate electricity have negative potential impacts on the environment [1]. According to Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to boost its renewable energy resources in its total energy share by producing nearly 9.5 GW of energy from sustainable energy sources by 2023, of which solar photovoltaic (PV) generation comprises a considerable portion [4,5,6,7]. The installed conventional power generation capacity in Saudi Arabia is the largest compared to other countries in the Middle East, with a total capacity of 88,685 MW of power generation in 2017. The average cost of electricity production in Saudi Arabia is 0.0544 $/kWh. Energy costs have been calculated based on the government-subsidized fuel price, which is much
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