RETScreen Software Research Articles

Comparative Analysis of Different Photovoltaic Simulation Software: Case Study on Analyzing the Performance of a 5,1 kWp Grid Connected Photovoltaic System

The high installation costs of photovoltaic (PV) systems are the most important obstacle in the spread of systems; that’s why various studies are carried out on the optimization of PV systems today. Thus, PV systems can be optimized in terms of criteria such as inclination angle, PV module number, module type, module construction structure, and inverter. Different user-friendly software is used to design PV systems. Such software estimates energy production using climate data and provides economic data accordingly. However, the reliability of these data varies as the productivity of photovoltaic systems depends on climatic conditions. In this paper, it is aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of PV*SOL, PVsyst, RETScreen, and PVGIS software, widely used in the solar energy sector, under the climatic conditions of Kocaeli province. A 5,1kWp roof-top PV system installed on Kocaeli University Technology Faculty building is simulated with these programs to reveal which software is more successful in predicting real energy production data. According to comparison, PV*SOL and PVsyst are evaluated as the most reliable software since the yields obtained are the closest to the real energy values.

Design of a solar power plant system for micro, small, medium enterprise uses PVSyst 7.1 as a renewable energy alternative source in remote areas

PLN electricity distribution goal for remote areas is not achieved yet so that alternative sources are needed, for instance, solar power plants. The purpose of this study is to design and analyze the solar power plant potential with an off-grid system that is used to supply SME electricity in electrical and economic terms. The daily load data profile used by SME is 1.8 kWh. This study uses PVSyst 7.0 software as design tool simulation system and RETscreen software as an economic analysis tool simulation. The result of this solar power plant system design requires a 700Wp solar module, 24V 160Ah battery, 24V 1000W inverter, and SCC 30A. With the planned system design, the electrical energy generated in the PVSyst simulation in one day is estimated to reach 2 kWh with the use of 50% Deep of Discharge battery capacity considering the length of battery life span. To return the investment cost of this solar power plant system, PLN electricity cost needed is Rp 2,664.

On-grid and hybrid solar power plants comparabilityin Semarang city, Indonesia

The electricity produced by an on-grid system can be sold to the state electricity company in Indonesian (PLN), when electricity produced by a hybrid system can be stored in batteries for self-consumption. This research will compare the savings between on-grid and hybrid system with the most profitable between both systems. The research method will utilize a simulation on PVSyst software for assessing technical feasibility and Retscreen software to calculate economic feasibility. The research results are obtained based on the comparison of both systems which are the Hybrid system used with a 1,200 Wp panel, 2 series 24V 100 Ah batteries, and a 1,500 W inverter, while On-grid system uses a 1,200 Wp panel and 1,500 W inverter. The On-grid design will produce electrical energy of 4,57 kWh/kWp/day with an initial investment value of USD 1,733.70 while the Hybrid design will produce 4,04 kWh/Kwp/day with an initial investment value of USD 1,871.63 for a 24 years project period and with approximately four times batteries replacement. The NPV value in the Hybrid system calculated is USD 1.43 and in the On-grid system is USD 1,700. Therefore, the Hybrid system is considered not economically feasible and does not gain more profit than On-grid System.

Feasibility Study of the Technical and Economic Performance of Grid-Connected PV System for Selected Rooftops in UTHM

This paper presents the feasibility study of the technical and economic performances of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system for selected rooftops in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM). The analysis of the electricity consumption and electricity bill data of UTHM campus show that the monthly electricity usage in UTHM campus is very high and expensive. The main purpose of this project is to reduce the annual electricity consumption and electricity bill of UTHM with Net Energy Metering (NEM) scheme. Therefore, the grid-connected PV system has been proposed at Dewan Sultan Ibrahim (DSI), Tunku Tun Aminah Library (TTAL), Fakulti Kejuruteraan Awam dan Alam Bina (FKAAS) and F2 buildings UTHM by using three types of PV modules which are mono-crystalline silicon (Mono-Si), poly-crystalline silicon (Poly-Si) and Thin-film. These three PV modules were modeled, simulated and calculated using Helioscope software with the capacity of 2,166.40kWp, 2,046.20kWp and 1,845kWp respectively for the total rooftop area of 190,302.9 ft². The economic analysis was conducted on the chosen three installed PV modules using RETScreen software. As a result, the Mono-Si showed the best PV module that can produce 2,332,327.40 kWh of PV energy, 4.4% of CO₂ reduction, 9.3 years of payback period considering 21 years of the contractual period and profit of RM4,932,274.58 for 11.7 years after payback period. Moreover, the proposed installation of 2,166.40kWp (Mono-SI PV module) can reduce the annual electricity bill and CO2 emission of 3.6% (RM421,561.93) and 4.4% (1,851.40 tCO₂) compared to the system without PV system.

PLTS Design for Big Industry Needs

Solar cell is a device that converts radiation from sunlight into electrical energy directly, which is also called photovoltaic . The Solar Module ( Photovoltaic ), functions to convert solar energy into DC electric current which is forwarded to the Battery Control Unit (BCU) for further storage in the battery. In this research, a solar cell electric power system with a capacity of 10 MW on-grid will be designed for large industrial needs. The performance of a 10 MW on-grid solar cell power system was simulated using RETScreen Clean Energy Project Analysis software , designed by Natural Resources Canada. This research begins with a prefeasibility study of a 10 MW on-grid solar cell power system using RETScreen software which has an extensive database of meteorological data including daily horizontal solar global radiation as well as databases of various components of renewable energy systems from different manufacturers. The technical and financial performance of a 10 MW on-grid solar cell power system was simulated using RETScreen software. This design is expected to be used as a model to develop a Solar Power Generation System (PLTS) network for large industrial needs.

Effect of orientation and tilt angles of solar collectors on their performance: Analysis of the relevance of general recommendations in the West and Central African context

Installing solar panels or collectors with optimum orientation and tilt angles to maximise energy generation over a specific period is important to improve the economics of solar systems, and hence, their large-scale utilisation. As a general rule, for installations aiming at maximum annual solar production in the intertropical region, it is recommended to point the panel towards the Equator at a tilt angle equal to the local latitude. However, there are several situations where it is difficult or even impossible to follow these general recommendations, for example in case of the presence of an obstacle creating shading, inadequate orientation or slope of the roofs, or when roofs are inaccessible. This raises the question of the impact of non-compliance with the general recommendations on solar systems’ performance. We have used RETScreen software for the calculation of annual average irradiation on tilted panels in various locations in West and Central Africa, namely in the capital cities (latitudes between 0° N and 15° N). For each site, the maximum annual solar irradiation is simulated and taken as a reference value. The annual irradiations for various orientations and tilt angles were then recorded and compared to the reference. It appears that in West and Central Africa, a moderate deviation (up to 20°) from the optimal orientation and inclination does not significantly influence the incident solar radiation (reduction in irradiation < 5%). Construction of structures dedicated to solar installations or architectural modification to comply with general recommendations is therefore generally not justified. A set of diagrams and tables, which allow us to quickly determine the percentage of incident solar radiation on a solar panel based on its orientation and tilt angle compared to the optimal tilt and orientation for any capital city in West and Central Africa, is provided.

Techno-economic study of a hybrid power generation system at the Lebanese coastal highways

&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;Despite its great importance in daily life, electricity remains one of the most critical issues in Lebanon where the power supply has been erratic for years and the government faces numerous problems in buying foreign currency for fuel import from petroleum countries. Therefore, there is an urgent need for efficient solutions to produce local energy in a more sustainable way, leading to an environmentally friendly energy consumption, far away from conventional energy sources. In this work, unconventional technologies are used for the generation of clean energy from a system of &lt;a name="_Hlk89670789"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;photovoltaic (PV) panels and wind turbines. The novelty lies in the fact that the cost of the land required for the installation is almost zero. The middle of the highways is usually left unoccupied and therefore suitable for the project. Another innovative feature of the proposed system is its ability to be connected to the public utility without the need for battery storage, which reduces the total cost of the system. The proposed design consists of 87,750 PVs arranged in pairs on a steel frame for a coastal distance of 117,000 meters (highway distance between Tyre and Tripoli) with a width of 2 meters and 29,250 vertical wind turbines placed under the chassis. Using RETScreen software, the capacity of the resulting system is estimated at 39.9 GW/year. The system would lead to a reduction in CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; and GHG emissions of approximately 28,211 tCO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;/year. The payback period of this project is estimated at 9 years with a lifetime of 25 years.&lt;/span&gt;

Optimization of a Grid-Connected Microgrid Using Tidal and Wind Energy in Cook Strait

The Cook Strait in New Zealand is an ideal location for wind and tidal renewable sources of energy due to its strong winds and tidal currents. The integration of both technologies can help to avoid the detrimental effects of fossil fuels and to reduce the cost of electricity. Although tidal renewable sources have not been used for electricity generation in New Zealand, a recent investigation, using the MetOcean model, has identified Terawhiti in Cook Strait as a superior location for generating tidal power. This paper investigates three different configurations of wind, tidal, and wind plus tidal sources to evaluate tidal potential. Several simulations have been conducted to design a DC-linked microgrid for electricity generation in Cook Strait using HOMER Pro, RETScreen, and WRPLOT software. The results show that Terawhiti, in Cook Strait, is suitable for an offshore wind farm to supply electricity to the grid, considering the higher renewable fraction and the lower net present cost in comparison with those using only tidal turbines or using both wind and tidal turbines.

Thermodynamic and Environmental Assessment of Mounting Fin at the Back Surface of Photovoltaic Panels

Nowadays, researches on different kinds of renewable energies including photovoltaic technology are developing rapidly. It is proved that the output power of a PV cell is reduced by increasing the temperature. In this paper, mounting aluminum fins at the back surface of the PV module is proposed as a simple and low-cost method to decrease the PV cell temperature. It was found that using aluminum fins caused more than 7°C reduction in the cell temperature. Besides, it was shown that the entropy generation of the PV module with fin, was 3.5% lower than the conventional one. Also, the positive environmental impacts of using fins at the back surface of the PV module were estimated by RETScreen software, so that it, leads to enhance the performance of the PV power plant by more than 25 %, from an environmental viewpoint.

Techno-economic analysis for the role of single end energy user in mitigating GHG emission

BackgroundHouseholds, as end energy users, consume grid electricity to meet their energy demands. However, grids across the globe for energy production are majorly based on fossil fuel technology and make the highest contributions to global warming and climate change due to greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. This generic study aims to investigate the minute role of a single-end energy consumer in GHG mitigation by switching to a rooftop PV system to meet his energy demands and trading surplus energy to the grid through its techno-economic analysis.MethodFor the study impact, NASA Meteorological Data are used to select an ideal single energy user equipped with a 10-kW PV system based on annual average daily solar radiation and ambient temperature through MATLAB/Simulink, for 11 populous cities in Pakistan. Helioscope software is used to select tilt and azimuthal angles to maximize the solar radiation intercept. Afterward, RETScreen software is used for cost, financial and GHG analysis.Result and conclusionA single end energy user equipped with a 10-kW PV system switched to a green energy source from a fossil fuel-based grid has the potential to avoid the burning of 3570.6 L of gasoline by producing 16,832 kWh of green energy per annum, while financially recovering the 10-kW PV system’s 7337$ grid-tied investment in 5 years (equity) and in 9 years (equity) in a 9077$ stand-alone system over its 25-year life. This approach provides relief to end energy users from high priced grid electricity through environmental friendliness by mitigating 8.3 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per annum from energy production, while providing relief to the main grid by grid stabilization through peak shaving, in the broad sense.

A Techno-Economic Viability Analysis of the Two-Axis Tracking Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Power System for 25 Selected Coastal Mediterranean Cities

Generating energy from renewable sources, particularly solar energy, offers significant benefits and achieves a more clean and sustainable development. In the present paper, the potential of developing a 4.2kW grid-connected rooftop two-axis tracking PV system in 25 selected coastal Mediterranean cities located in different Arabic countries is evaluated using RETScreen software. The proposed system is serving the basic household energy needs according to the load profile from monthly electrical bills. It is found that the proposed system produces about 8824kW annually, which helps to reduce CO2 emissions. Also, the average energy production cost is assumed to range from 0.0337 to 00.0475$/kWh. It is concluded that the proposed system can provide an effective solution for energy poverty in developing regions with a very positive socio-economic and environmental impact. The small-scale grid-connected PV system will provide the domestic energy needs at a lower energy production cost than the electricity price grid-connected consumers pay. This study demonstrated that generating electricity from solar energy will help reduce the electricity tariff rates and the dependence on fossil fuels.

Bridging the energy gap of India’s residential buildings by using rooftop solar PV systems for higher energy stars

Abstract The residential-building sector in India consumes &amp;gt;25% of the total electricity and is the third-largest consumer of electricity; consumption increased by 26% between 2014 and 2017. India has introduced a star-labelling programme for residential buildings that is applicable for all single- and multiple-dwelling units in the country for residential purposes. The Energy Performance Index (EPI) of a building (annual energy consumption in kilowatt-hours per square metre of the building) is taken as an indicator for awarding the star label for residential buildings. For gauging the EPI status of existing buildings, the electricity consumption of residential buildings (in kWh/m2/year) is established through a case study of the residential society. Two years of electricity bills are collected for an Indian residential society located in Palam, Delhi, analysed and benchmarked with the Indian residential star-labelling programme. A wide EPI gap is observed for existing buildings for five-star energy labels. Based on existing electricity tariffs, the energy consumption of residential consumers and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)’s proposed building ENERGY STAR labelling, a grid-integrated rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) system is considered for achieving a higher star label. This research study establishes the potential of grid-connected rooftop solar PV systems for residential buildings in Indian cities through a case study of Delhi. Techno-economic analysis of a grid-integrated 3-kWp rooftop solar PV plant is analysed by using RETScreen software. The study establishes that an additional two stars can be achieved by existing buildings by using a grid-integrated rooftop solar PV plant. Payback for retrofit of a 3-kWp rooftop solar PV plant for Indian cites varies from 3 to 7 years. A case study in Delhi, India establishes the potential of grid-connected rooftop solar PV systems for residential buildings. Techno-economic analysis of grid integrated, 3 kWp rooftop solar systems estimates a payback period from 3 to 7 years.

Feasibility of hydropower generation on existing Legedadi water supply scheme, Addis Ababa-Ethiopia

Hydropower can be harnessed by installing in-pipe turbines with the reduced cost compared with hydropower dam construction. Legedadi Water Supply Scheme is found in Addis Ababa and is fed by gravity. This research assesses the hydropower potential of the existing large water transmission pipelines in line with their financial viability. The research required the collection of data from pipe flow (for 29 years from the system record) and pipe layout drawings believed to be useful for estimating the power. The available pipe layout drawing was processed to prepare a profile view with the help of AutoCAD CIVIL 3D. From the profile view, the gross heads and length of the pipelines were obtained. The exploitable power and financial viability of the projects were estimated by RET Screen software. The raw water main (DN1200) was discovered to have a head of 12.46 m and to convey up to 1.47 m3/s at 90% exceedance over a length of 550 m. The two treated water mains have a head of 19.15 m with a flow of 1.14 m3/s at 90 % exceedance via DN1200 and 0.29 m3/s at 90% exceedance via DN900 over a length of 18.4 km. The most suitable sites for the installation of turbines were at the inlet of the treatment plant and the Kotebe Terminal Reservoir. The Toshiba Hydro-eKIDS turbine was selected since it might work efficiently with large flow variation.The annual energy output from the raw water main to be obtained was 1,208 Mwh,with an estimated cost of $461,000 and an annual savings or revenue of $75,946. For the treated water mains, 1,193 Mwh (DN1200) and 344 Mwh (DN900) could be extracted with an estimated cost of 414,500$ (DN1200) and 135,900$ (DN900). The annual revenue for treated water mains is 75,068$ (DN1200) and that for DN900 is 18,842$.

Energy-exergy-economic-environmental-energo-exergo-enviroecono (7E) analysis of solar photovoltaic power plant: A case study of 7 airport sites in India

Solar PV development gained airport operators' attention in the wake of its negligible carbon emission and onsite electricity generation. The solar PV projects in airports cater to its energy, economic and environmental needs. A comprehensive study on multi-dimensional performance aspects of the airport-based solar PV system is not presented anywhere. This study investigates the energy, exergy, economic, environmental, energoeconomic, exergoeconomic, and enviroeconomic (7E) performance of solar PV power plant proposed in the premises of 7 Indian airports. For the ease of performance comparison, an identical 5 MW solar PV system is designed for each airport location. At first, the energy generation, economic, and environmental performance are assessed with the help of RETScreen software. Then, an Excel-based mathematical model was developed to estimate exergy, energoeconomic, exergoeconomic, and enviroeconomic parameters. Satisfactory performance ratio (more than 79%) and system efficiency (more than 14%) are predicted in all the selected airport locations. The minimum and maximum values of exergy efficiency are estimated as 9.89% (Goa airport) and 12.00% (Lucknow airport), respectively. Except for Ahmedabad airport and Dehradun airport, the IRR value is less than the discount rate (10%) for the five airports, with Goa airport on the borderline (9.5%). Dehradun airport has the most favorable 7E parameters among the selected seven airports with 82.21% PR, 20.56% CUF, 15.13% exergy efficiency, 3.7 years payback, 13.30% IRR, 7.5 cents LCOE, 8060 tCO2 avoided/ annum. In addition, it has the lowest value of exergoeconomic & energoeconomic parameter and the highest value of enviroeconomic performance among the selected locations. The application of the 7E framework is expected to provide valuable insights into the feasibility study of the solar photovoltaic system in airports.

Techno-Economic Investigation of Using Solar Energy for Heating Swimming Pools in Buildings and Producing Hydrogen: A Case Study

Solar energy is a free and environmentally friendly supply of power that has negligible impact on the environment, and it has long been used by humans through different methods. However, solar energy technology would use for heating water for buildings as an alternative resource, which would help reduce CO2 reduction and safe environment. A data analysis was performed using the RETScreen software, and the financial outcomes that were calculated using two methods. Clearly, the software is operational with two different methods. Both methods indicate that this project is economically feasible. The aim of this study is to evaluate the utilization of solar energy for household and commercial purposes. The first goal is to explore the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of using evacuated glass tube solar collectors to heat water in an indoor pool in the building, having an area of 50 m2, in the city of Yazd, Iran. The second goal is to evaluate the amount of hydrogen that can be obtained from the installation photovoltaic systems in the province. The results also show that this project will decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 142 ton-CO2 over 20 years of the useful life of a collector, thereby indicating the possible significant role of such collectors in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the findings indicate that installing a single X21-345 photovoltaic system with a performance rate of 20% can result in the production of 2.1 kg of hydrogen annually.

Analysis of an Off-grid PV System for Disaster Mitigation Scheme in Remote Areas

The main objective of this paper is to present the techno-economic analysis of an off-grid Photovoltaic system, which prepared to support disaster mitigation scheme in remote areas. As a case study, a regency in Mentawai Island, Sumatera Barat is chosen to represent a remote area in a disaster-prone location. The proposed system capacity is 20 kWp PV system as a single electricity source for medical facility in the island. As a tool in this study, RETScreen software was used to analyze the technical, environmental, and economical feasibility analysis. As a base case scenario, the medical facility was supported by a diesel-fueled generator and the PV system can deliver 10.14 MWh of electricity to load annually. Net annual GHG emission reduction of the system is 19.4 ton of CO2 equivalent. With the total initial cost for the whole PV system at USD 41,380, RETScreen simulation result showed that the equity payback of the project is 6.0 years with IRR of 11.9% hence the project is financially viable.

Energy savings strategies in Campus Buildings of Athens - Greece

Bioclimatic construction has been an important tool for improving the construction of buildings in recent decades. Energy-saving options in buildings include the use of appropriate materials, exposures and the use of alternative power generation systems. In the present work the basic features of the bioclimatic design and study of the energy saving in the buildings of the polytechnic area located in Zografou is presented. In particular, the RETscreen software is used to test energy savings in the buildings of library, mechanical engineering and management building using photovoltaics. It turns out that an important parameter that affects energy saving is the use of the building and the type of photovoltaic used. This is evidenced by the results of RETscreen that in the case of the Library and the Mechanical Engineering building stable photovoltaic have greater energy savings while in the case of the Management building, biaxial photovoltaics produce greater savings.

Design and simulation of solar roof-top projects for an energy self-reliant university campus

A University campus becoming self-reliant in terms of electricity generation is always important. The power requirement of a University campus is mainly for its academic blocks for different departments. The laboratories, libraries, and hostel facilities also require continuous power needs. Conventionally, the electricity needs are met utilizing the power received from the local utility and the University will be paying for it based on the tariff fixed by the local regulators and agreed by the utility. It is proposed to install Solar Roof-top PV power plants in shade-free rooftops of the buildings inside a University campus to offset the University’s electricity needs and to make the University self-reliant in terms of electricity generation and consumption. This integrated and comprehensive solar project is intended to reduce the carbon footprint of the University and aiming for a carbon-neutral campus. Detailed feasibility studies have been conducted for installing solar roof-top power plants in the selected building roof-tops of the University. Based on the feasibility study, design and simulation have been carried out for a total 1.6MWp capacity of solar roof-top projects to completely offset the total electricity needs of the University based on the current electricity consumption patterns. The design and simulation are accomplished utilizing PVsyst software and the economic and environmental analysis has been carried out utilizing RETscreen software for arriving at the results.

Renewable Energy's Potential Scrutiny by PVSYST and RETSCREEN Software

In this paper, the feasibility study of the installation of biomass, solar, wind, and geothermal power plants were investigated by using RETscreen software at Khoy, Iran. Given the software's inflation rate of 12 percent and project loan interest rate of 4 percent, the initial capital of the 660-kW wind farm is expected to be 710732 dollars, with a return period of about nine years. The initial capital of the 30-megawatt photovoltaic power plant expected to be $40 million, with a return period of 25 years and a factor of 25 percent. The initial capital cost of construction the 550-kilowatt biomass power plant estimated at 473821 dollars, with a return period of 8 years, and the final capital of the binary and dual-stage geothermal power plant expected to be in the 11 millions of dollars, The return period is 12 years. According to the results of pvsyst software, which includes a grid-connected power plant, the amount of horizontal irradiation is pSh4.6 per day, as well as the required 212194 meters of land, and the electricity generated by the power plant provides$ 1.6 million a year for the power plant.

Educational evaluation of renewable energy projects based on RETScreen software

In the design of renewable energy projects, a present problem is the techno-economic evaluation of them, regularly different methods and models are used to do it, in this work it is proposed to innovate in the degree of Engineering in Renewable Energies (LIER) of the UNAM in the National School of Superior Studies Juriquilla campus the way to evaluate projects using the software RETScreen. This paper presents a methodology to evaluate a wind energy project in the state of Queretaro Mexico. The project contemplates a wind turbine brand VESTAS V44 - 40m of 600 kW capacity of 40 m height in the state of Querétaro in the center of the country of Mexico. The initial costs of this wind turbine are 1,283 $/kW or 770,000 USD, with a rate of 80 $/kW. The electricity exported to the grid is 1,703 MWh and the income from electricity exports is 136,235.52 USD. With this wind turbine you can save 1,318.2 tCO2 per year or 566,414 liters of unused gasoline.