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COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF 500 KW AND 1100 KW SOLAR PV INSTALLATIONS
One-line summary
A solar energy research paper on COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF 500 KW AND 1100 KW SOLAR PV INSTALLATIONS.
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Chinese explanation / 中文解读
中文解读待补充：本站会优先为光伏效率、钙钛矿太阳能电池、储能技术、太阳能热利用、BIPV、并网技术等高价值论文补充中文说明。
Original abstract
Solar photovoltaic plants in the sub-megawatt and low-megawatt range are increasingly selected by commercial, institutional and small industrial consumers because they can be deployed close to the load, reduce distribution losses, and provide predictable electricity costs over long asset lives.This paper compares two grid-connected photovoltaic plant sizes, 500 kW and 1100 kW, using a common technical and financial boundary so that scale effects can be separated from site-dependent assumptions.The analysis integrates annual energy yield, performance ratio, capacity utilization, component sizing, capital expenditure, operation and maintenance cost, levelized cost of electricity, payback, net present value and sensitivity to cost or output uncertainty.Recent international evidence shows that solar PV remains one of the most competitive powergeneration technologies, with utility-scale PV LCOE near USD 0.044/kWh in 2023 and a continuing moduleprice decline in 2024, although local costs depend strongly on project size, interconnection, land or rooftop structure, financing terms and regulatory treatment (International Energy Agency [IEA], 2024; International Renewable Energy Agency [IRENA], 2024).The modelled 1100 kW plant produces about 1,768 MWh in the first year compared with 794 MWh for the 500 kW plant, reflecting both greater capacity and a modest improvement in system performance due to better inverter loading, monitoring and maintenance economics.The estimated specific capital cost declines from USD 840/kW for the 500 kW plant to USD 770/kW for the 1100 kW plant.Consequently, base-case LCOE falls from USD 0.052/kWh to USD 0.046/kWh, while simple payback improves from 5.8 to 5.1 years under the assumed tariff-offset scenario.The larger plant also provides a higher absolute net present value, though it requires more land, stronger grid evacuation readiness, and more disciplined asset-management practices.The study concludes that the 1100 kW plant is more cost-efficient where space, interconnection capacity and demand absorption are available, whereas the 500 kW plant remains attractive where capital availability, roof area, net-metering limits, or demand charges constrain scale.The comparison offers a transparent framework that can be adapted to actual irradiation, tariff and procurement data before investment approval.
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