Techno-economic and environmental assessment of utilizing campus building rooftops for solar PV power generation

초록

The academic institute, a huge consumer of energy, is still depending upon the grid and/or conventional fuel despite having potential areas of a solar PV installation. No such study has been reported in Nepal which has techno-economically discussed the potential use of academic institute rooftops for solar PV installation. In this study, we have investigated the techno-economic and environmental assessment of a 1 megawatt (MW) rooftop solar PV using PVsyst for Purwanchal Campus, Nepal. It has been estimated the plant will produce about 1,660 MWh of usable AC electricity annually and out of which 95% can be supplied to the grid. The remaining can fulfill the demand of the campus at sunshine hours. For this, a capital investment of about USD 961,404 is needed for the plant with an annual operating cost of USD 8,008. This project gives a 190% return of investment within its life of 25 years with a Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of 0.069 USD/kWh. The performance ratio and payback period of the project are calculated at about 0.765 and 8.4 years, respectively. The system will produce about 97% less emission than that of diesel generator, which is currently being used for power backup. It is concluded that a 1 MW grid-connected solar PV system is feasible for the studied campus.

키워드