Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic and Crop Cultivation: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Human civilization depends on energy sources, mainly fossil fuels. An increase in the prices of fossil fuels and their exhaustibility limit economic growth. Carbon dioxide emission causes global environmental problems. Global crises (including COVID-19) have sharpened food and energy supply problems. The decentralized energy supply systems as well as the expedition of the application of renewable energy may solve these challenges. The economic shift to renewable power generation intensifies the competition between food crop production and green energy for land. This paper applied an open-source spatial-based model to quantify the solar power generation (the ground-mounted photovoltaic panels) for the southern regions of Poland (the Opole region) and Ukraine (the Mykolaiv region). The model used technical, economic, and legal constraints. This study compared economic indicators of the solar power generation and the crop production projects for rain-fed land. The net present value (NPV) and the profitability index (PI) were used for the economic evaluation. Additionally, the coefficients of variation were determined to assess investment risks. The use of r.green.solar model to find the spatial distribution of the reduction of carbon dioxide emission was the novelty of this study. The analysis revealed that the PV projects have higher NPV, but lower PI compared to the crop production. The PV projects have lower coefficients of variation. This fact testifies that these projects are less risky.

Analysis of the Impact of the Level of Self-Consumption of Electricity from a Prosumer Photovoltaic Installation on Its Profitability under Different Energy Billing Scenarios in Poland

“…The authors of [26] pointed out in their analyses the significant impact of energy self-consumption and government subsidy levels on the NPV ratio and payback time of high-power PV systems in Italy, with billing mechanisms for energy sold at an annual price. On top of this, PV system designs are characterised by low coefficients of variation and low investment risk, with high NPV and profitability indexes (PI) [27], and are particularly cost-effective in areas with high current demand, such as farms [28]. The power of the PV micro-installation is also important for changing the NPV, depending on whether the system is designed to supply 100% of the energy for the house in the first or last year of the system's operation [29].…”

Cooperation of the University of Opole with Scientific and Educational Units of Ukraine in the States of Emergency: A Practical Dimension

“…The topic of the internship was the modelling of electricity production by photovoltaic panels under the conditions of south-western Poland and the Mykolaiv Oblast in Ukraine. One of the outcomes of these activities was a publication in the journal Sustainability (Sacchelli et al, 2022). In addition, Prof. Havrysh, among other activities, gave lectures to students and participated in scientific research in the studios and laboratories of the Institute.…”

Technical and Economic Analysis of the Use of Electricity Generated by a BIPV System for an Educational Establishment in Poland

“…Similar objectives were adopted by the authors of paper [12], whose area of study focused on the establishment of willow and poplar plantations. For the 5% discount rate and three subsidy scenarios, economic profitability was analyzed on the basis of discounted cash flows, net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and profitability ratio (PI).On the other hand, the article [13] provided a comparative analysis for ground-mounted photovoltaics and agricultural crops for areas in Poland and Ukraine with the most insolation. Among the authors' findings was the determination that the net present value of photovoltaic projects exceeds that of crop-growing projects.…”