Photovoltaic potential and performance evaluation studies in India and the UK

Georgitsioti, Tatiani (2015) Photovoltaic potential and performance evaluation studies in India and the UK. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

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Abstract

The research expresses the PV potential in the UK and India by examining the performance and the cost of domestic grid-connected PV systems. Further, crystalline systems and two thin film system technologies (amorphous silicon and copper indium gallium diselenide), which are installed at a site in India, are examined in order to validate the simulated outputs compared to the systems’ field performance and to compare the behaviour of the different module technologies under the harsh climatic conditions of India.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the PV system performance and to develop methods for expressing the PV systems lifetime energy generation and the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) in both countries as a function of location or other influencing parameters.

In the beginning the study presents the UK and India climates and the solar databases with their limitations. Further, it discusses the simulation outputs and the annual energy predictions for the UK and India. It also presents the UK and India PV markets and their policies and the LCOE equation, which was formed, and the methodology used for the LCOE calculations. It discusses the LCOE results and presents indicative lifetime CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions savings for the researched locations. Continuing, this study presents the model formed for the lifetime energy prediction and annual energy assessment based on PV system degradation and uncertainty factors. Finally, it summarises the technical and economic outputs of this research, by expressing the PV potentials in the UK and India.

Even for these two countries, which are significantly different in respect to their solar resource, the PV systems may produce similar amounts of energy during their lifetime for reasonable assumptions of degradation rates and uncertainty levels. An uncertainty in the energy output makes the economic viability uncertain. Hence, the investor should be aware of the energy prediction risks, especially in investments where a minimum rate of return is specified. The intermediate lifetime energy range is 60,000-70,000 kWh for the UK while is between 70,000-100,000 kWh for India. The cost per kWh of a domestic PV system in India (range: 0.07-0.13 £/kWh) is lower than in the UK (range: 0.11-0.17 £/kWh) by considering only the net PV cost. However, it is more profitable with the current policies to install a domestic PV system in the UK rather than India. This shows that India has to reconsider its incentive policies for the domestic PV system deployment.

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