An Evaluation of Financial Incentive Policies for Solar Photovoltaic Systems in the U.S.

Author(s):  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Alta Knizley ◽  
Heejin Cho

This paper analyzes some of the existing incentives for solar photovoltaic (PV) energy generation in the U.S. to investigate how effectively those existing incentive policies can promote PV adaptions in the U.S. market. Two common building types (i.e., hospitals and large hotels) located in five different U.S. states, each having their own incentives, are selected and analyzed for the PV incentive policies. The payback period of the PV system is chosen as an indicator to analyze and critique the effectiveness of each incentive by comparing the payback periods before and after taking the incentive into consideration. In this way, the existing incentive policies implemented by utility companies in each state are analyzed and critiqued. Finally, a parametric analysis is conducted to determine the influence of the variation in key parameters, such as PV system capacity and PV capital cost, on the performance of PV system. The results show how the existing incentives can be effectively used to promote the PV systems in the U.S. and how variations of the parameters can impact the payback period of the PV systems. Through the evaluation of the existing incentive policies and the parametric study, this paper demonstrates that the type and level of incentives should be carefully determined in policy-making processes to effectively promote the PV systems.

Author(s):  
Rakesh Dalal ◽  
Kamal Bansal ◽  
Sapan Thapar

Rooftop solar photovoltaic(PV) installation in India have increased in last decade because of the flat 40 percent subsidy extended for rooftop solar PV systems (3 kWp and below) by the Indian government under the solar rooftop scheme. From the residential building owner's perspective, solar PV is competitive when it can produce electricity at a cost less than or equal grid electricity price, a condition referred as “grid parity”. For assessing grid parity of 3 kWp and 2 kWp residential solar PV system, 15 states capital and 19 major cities were considered  for the RET screen simulation by using solar isolation, utility grid tariff, system cost and other economic parameters. 3 kWp and 2 kWp rooftop solar PV with and without subsidy scenarios were considered for simulation using RETscreen software. We estimate that without subsidy no state could achieve grid parity for 2kWp rooftop solar PV plant. However with 3 kWp rooftop solar PV plant only 5 states could achieve grid parity without subsidy and with government subsidy number of states increased to 7, yet wide spread parity for residential rooftop solar PV is still not achieved. We find that high installation costs, subsidized utility grid supply to low energy consumer and financing rates are major barriers to grid parity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 225 ◽  
pp. 04004
Author(s):  
Tan Dei Han ◽  
Mohamad Rosman M. Razif ◽  
Shaharin A. Sulaiman

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has the potential of supplying infinite electricity from renewable energy to rural areas around Malaysia. Various preterm failures happening frequently on the system lead to its drop in efficiency and breakdown. Lack of studies on the system in Malaysia hinders the development in terms of operation and maintenance. There is no proper documentation relevant to the premature failure of the system in Malaysia. The main objective of this project is to study the nature of premature failure of stand-alone solar photovoltaic system in Malaysia in order to improve the operation and maintenance of the system. The present study would provide reference for proper planning on operation and maintenance of the PV system. The study was conducted base on expert’s input and extensive literature survey. FMEA method and ISM approach are applied to analyze the data collected. Poor cooling system have the highest risk priority number. Poor workmanship is the least depending factor for premature failure to happen thus requires most attention. Highest driving force of premature failure is poor monitoring and maintenance. More focus should be given to these premature failure during the planning for operation and maintenance due to its severity and impact.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Sayed ◽  
M. El-Shimy ◽  
M. El-Metwally ◽  
M. Elshahed

Recently, solar power generation is significantly contributed to growing renewable sources of electricity all over the world. The reliability and availability improvement of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has become a critical area of interest for researchers. Reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) is an engineering tool used to address operational and safety issues of systems. It aims to identify the weakest areas of a system which will improve the overall system reliability. In this paper, RAM analysis of grid-connected solar-PV system is presented. Elaborate RAM analysis of these systems is presented starting from the sub-assembly level to the subsystem level, then the overall system. Further, an improved Reliability Block Diagram is presented to estimate the RAM performance of seven practical grid-connected solar-PV systems. The required input data are obtained from worldwide databases of failures, and repair of various subassemblies comprising various meteorological conditions. A novel approach is also presented in order to estimate the best probability density function for each sub-assembly. The monitoring of the critical subassemblies of a PV system will increase the possibility not only for improving the availability of the system, but also to optimize the maintenance costs. Additionally, it will inform the operators about the status of the various subsystems of the system.


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Firdaus Muhammad Sukki ◽  
Roberto Ramirez Iniguez ◽  
Scott G. Mcmeekin ◽  
Brian G. Stewart ◽  
Barry Clive

Solar energy has become a matter of global attention in the past few years. This paper explores the use and benefit of solar concentrators in the solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. First, a short literature review of previous research on the usage of solar concentrators in improving solar PV system performance and reducing the cost of implementation is presented. This is followed by an overview of SolarBrane, an example of a Building Integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system which uses an optical concentrator in the solar PV design. An optimised design of the SolarBrane is also discussed afterwards. A financial benefit study is conducted to compare the average return of investment of using the optimised SolarBrane and traditional solar PV installed in Malaysia’s environment. SolarBrane has proven to be a good alternative to achieve costeffective solar PV system. The financial analysis simulated under the new Malaysian Feed–In Tariff scheme indicates that the optimised SolarBrane could potentially reduce the initial cost of implementation by 40% and generate higher return, close to 20%, when compared to traditional solar PV systems. Key words: Solar photovoltaic; solar concentrator; solarBrane; dielectric totally internally reflecting concentrator; financial analysis


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 358-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minhyun LEE ◽  
Taehoon HONG ◽  
Choongwan KOO ◽  
Chan-Joong KIM

Despite the steady growth and price reductions of solar photovoltaic (PV) market in the United States (U.S.), the solar PV market still depends on financial support and incentives due to its high initial investment cost. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a break-even analysis and impact analysis of residential solar PV systems by state in the U.S., focused on state solar incentives. Three indexes (i.e., net present value, profitability index (PI) and payback period) were used to evaluate the investment value of the residential solar PV systems considering state solar incentives. Furthermore, PI increase ratio was used to analyze the impact of state solar incentives on the economic feasibility of the residential solar PV systems in each state. As a result, it was found that 18 of the 51 target cities have reached the break-even point and seven of the 51 target cities showed great improvement of the economic feasibility of solar PV systems in the U.S. due to excellent state solar incentives. The results of this study can help policy makers to evaluate and compare the economic impacts of the residential solar PV systems by state in the U.S.


The need to electrify all rural areas in India is quite compelling. However, the focus has now shifted from traditional fuel-based systems to generate electricity to renewable sources for energy generation. Though there are subsidies and policies that encourage the use of solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems, there is a need for an appropriate framework. This framework could not only offer substantial directions but it would also act as grounds to enhance rural electrification in India using solar PVs. From this perspective, the current research attempts to structure an innovative framework for solar PV system that could facilitate rural electrification in India. In particular, the district of Damoh in Madhya Pradesh was chosen as there are many villages without electricity in this district. PVsyst software was utilized to simulate the outcomes that included mathematical models and diverse components based on PV, for simulation. Three designs were developed to facilitate the simulation. These included; PVs linked with microgrid devoid of battery, individual PV systems without microgrid link and solar PVs linked to microgrid with battey. The framework for rural electrification using solar PVs will offer policy makers with insights with regards to implementing PV systems. It will also offer inputs as to the feasibility of implementing a specific system on several parameters. These would comprise of; number of households within a village, detached households etc. Nonetheless, research in future is also warranted to explore the scope for other sources of renewable energy.


Author(s):  
Joseph M. Prusa ◽  
John D. Morris ◽  
John D. Morris

The performance of a network of five recently installed, grid interactive residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Palm Beach County, FL is analyzed, and a probabilistic model for estimating the performance the network is developed. To first order, integrated network performance — whatever the combination of individual PV arrays — can be estimated using generalized tilt factors. These take into account basic geometrical information such as array size/orientation and solar position; as well as atmospheric effects, and module efficiencies. They are computed using a model termed the solar simulator that integrates the instantaneous solar irradiation striking a given PV system over a day. The resulting estimates for mean network performance are within ∼ 6% of the observed values. At present, work on estimators of higher moments of the energy production distribution is incomplete, but local meteorological factors that may influence their values as well as data (Pearson correlations and distribution skewness) useful for future developments are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Izuan Fahmi Romli ◽  
Rajprasad Kumar Rajkumar ◽  
Wong Yee Wan ◽  
Chong Lee Wai ◽  
Roselina Arelhi ◽  
...  

Countries like Malaysia have more that 70% of its population living in rural areas. Majority of these rural areas lie in regions where most villages do not have grid connected electricity. Renewable energy using photovoltaic (PV) panels offers an alternative and cost efficient solution that exploits the yearlong abundance of sunlight available in countries like Malaysia. The main problem with PV systems is the high maintenance costs in replacing batteries every few years which makes PV systems unattractive for rural areas. A full scale PV system, developed in Semenyih Malaysia, aims to increase battery lifetime and reduce maintenance costs by incorporating supercapacitors. The system was developed in a life-sized cabin to mimic a rural home. A programmable load is used to test the system with the load profile of a typical rural household usage. Experimental and simulation results show that the supercapacitor bank is able to reduce the stress on the battery by absorbing peak current surges. Results also show that the system is able to maintain a high battery state of charge during the entire day.Article History: Received June 17th 2016; Received in revised form August 16th 2016; Accepted Sept 10th 2016; Available onlineHow to Cite This Article: Fahmi, M.I., Rajkumar, R.,  Wong, Y.W., Chong, L.W., Arelhi, R., and Isa, D. (2016) The Effectiveness of New Solar Photovoltaic System with Supercapacitor for Rural Areas. Int. Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 5(3), 249-257.http://dx.doi.org/10.14710/ijred.5.3.249-257


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Tamba Dellosa

The Renewable Energy Act of 2008 in the Philippines provided an impetus for residential owners to explore solar PV installations at their own rooftops through the Net-Metering policy. The Net-Metering implementation through the law however presented some concerns with inexperienced electric DU on the potential effect of high residential solar PV system installations. It was not known how a high degree of solar integration to the grid can possibly affect the operations of the electric DU in terms of energy load management. The primary objective of this study was to help the local electric DU in the analysis of the potential effect of high residential solar PV system penetration to the supply and demand load profile in an electric distribution utility (DU) grid in the province of Agusan del Norte, Philippines. The energy consumption profiles in the year 2015 were obtained from the electric DU operating in the area. An average daily energy demand load profile was obtained from 0-hr to the 24th hour of the day based from the figures provided by the electric DU. The assessment part of the potential effect of high solar PV system integration assumed four potential total capacities from 10 Mega Watts (MW) to 40 MW generated by all subscribers in the area under study at a 10 MW interval. The effect of these capacities were measured and analyzed with respect to the average daily load profile of the DU. Results of this study showed that a combined installations beyond 20 MWp coming from all subscribers is not viable for the local electric DU based on their current energy demand or load profile. Based from the results obtained, the electric DU can make better decisions in the management of high capacity penetration of solar PV systems in the future, including investment in storage systems when extra capacities are generated.Article History: Received July 15th 2016; Received in revised form Sept 23rd 2016; Accepted Oct 1st 2016; Available onlineHow to Cite This Article: Dellosa, J. (2016) Potential Effect and Analysis of High Residential Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems Penetration to an Electric Distribution Utility (DU). Int. Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 5(3), 179-185.http://dx.doi.org/10.14710/ijred.5.3.179-185


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2178
Author(s):  
Heejin Seo ◽  
Jangwon Suh

Smartphones and tablets can be effectively used in the solar photovoltaic (PV) energy field for different purposes because of their versatile capabilities incorporating hardware and software functionalities. These multifarious capabilities enable new approaches for measuring and visualizing data that are seldom available in conventional computing platforms. In this study, 100 accessible smartphone applications (apps) developed in the solar PV energy sector were investigated. The apps were categorized based on their main function as follows: computation of sun position, PV system optimal settings, PV site investigation, potential assessment of PV systems, environmental and economic assessment of PV systems, monitoring and control of PV systems, and education and learning for PV system. Each of these categories was further divided based on principal features or functions. Exemplary apps were chosen for each category and their characteristics and usefulness were investigated. Moreover, the apps for roof or rooftops and those that require built-in or external sensors were organized and analyzed according to their topic and functionality. Limitations regarding app implementation in solar PV and implications for future improvement as an alternative solar design tools were discussed. This study has significance in that it has first presented the current applicability and future perspectives of solar PV smartphone apps. Furthermore, they can be effectively used by the energy prosumers as an analysis tool for energy design due to evolving smartphone sensor technologies current opportunity factors.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document