No abstract

Components and installation prices could make the self-consumption of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems competitive. In this paper, we explore different self-consumption options, off-grid PV systems (with back-up generator and/or batteries), and grid-connected PV systems under net-metering policies. The calculation of the net present cost (NPC) reveals that the grid-connected PV-only case (for the net-metering scheme) is the most attractive from the technical and financial points of view, with a levelised cost of energy less than 0.1 €/kWh. Off-grid PV + Diesel + Batteries has a higher cost, around two or three times the grid-connected PV-only under net metering. Additionally, the off-grid PV + Diesel is less attractive from a financial point of view, which has a cost of around 10 times the PV-only under net metering. In addition, the values of life cycle CO 2 emissions in each of the cases studied have been compared, and we have concluded that although the off-grid PV + Diesel + Batteries system presents lower CO 2 emissions than the PV-only system, the existence of batteries does not allow one to affirm that the PV + Diesel + Batteries system is the best from an environmental point of view.

This paper presents a study that analyses the effect of financing costs on grid parity in photovoltaic (PV) installations by applying a probabilistic methodology. Three different case studies, located in Spain, have been considered, with 500 kW, 50 kW and 5 kW grid-connected PV generators. The technical and economic calculations were performed, considering the interest rate, yield across the Spanish geography, and PV module cost as parameters. The Monte Carlo method was applied to consider the full probabilistic range of values given to the different variables. The goal of this study was to determine, for the studied cases, the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) and the internal rate of return by considering realistic values of the variables. A success rate parameter was calculated, which determined the likelihood of the number of times that the LCOE was below the retail cost of electricity. All the cases were evaluated by applying 10,000 iterations, considering the standard deviations and means defined.

In the following paper, the grid parity is defined as the point of which the retail price of electricity is at least the same as the cost of generation (which is a mix of different generation sources: nuclear, natural gas, coal, petroleum, hydro, wind, photovoltaic, and more). This cost is levelized though a studied formula which considers various cost parameters. The grid parity depends on the photovoltaic (PV) system cost, the interest rate, and the retail cost of the electricity, so there are some variables that when combined can help researchers understand how far a system is from achieving grid parity. This study will consider some vigorous surveys to clarify which the parameters affect the results.