Techno-Economo-Environmental Viability Assessment of Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System- A Case for Different Cities of Pakistan

Abstract

It is established fact that with the increased demand of electricity and depletion of conventional energy sources reserves, lately researchers are recommending the use of standalone and grid connected photovoltaic (PV) systems. Pakistan has ~2.324 million MW capacity of electricity generation through solar PV applications which is hardly exploited. This work is focused on analyzing the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of a standalone photovoltaic system installed in five different cities of Pakistan (Faisalabad, Sakkar, Bhakkar, Gawadar and Abbotabad). Simulations are carried out on "RETScreen" for 1 kW system capacity. The weather data used in simulation is reported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Technical analysis is performed in terms of capacity factor and electricity delivered to load. The economics of the designed system is investigated considering different economic paradigms including its whole-sum present value, rate of return, payback time, benefit-cost ratio and annual life cycle savings. Outcomes elaborate that Abbottabad is the most feasible location among selected locations with 4.1 years payback period, while Bhakkar and Gwadar are the least feasible with 4.6 years payback period.