Techno-economic potential assessment of mega scale grid-connected PV power plant in five climate zones of Pakistan

Abstract The industrial sector is of great importance for the economic development of any country. The current energy crisis in Pakistan is the major obstacle to its economic growth. Diesel generator is used as reliable backup power source in many industrial and commercial applications during load shedding hours, which increases the cost of energy per kWh and environmental emissions. The grid-connected PV plants increase the share of solar energy in the power grid to reduce environmental emissions. The purpose of this study is to analyze and compare the techno-economic assessment of mega-scale grid-connected PV plants for the industrial sector in Pakistan's five climate zones. Based on energy injected into the gird, payback period and GHG emission reduction, a detailed technical, economic, and environmental analysis is conducted by using the PVsyst software. This study concludes that PV plants for all five climatic zones are technically, economically, and environmentally feasible but Quetta (Zone-C) is the most feasible location with the highest annual generation 4441 MWh, highest capacity utilization factor 20.3%, lowest cost of energy 0.026 USD/kWh and lowest payback period 3.2 years for fixed tilt orientation. The designed system has the potential to reduce 39442.5 tCO2 emissions over its lifetime, resulting in a green environment. When compared to a fixed tilt system, the energy produced yearly by a single axis tracking system is 5.7% higher, while the energy produced yearly by a dual axis tracking system is 34.3% higher. Moreover, the validation of simulation results with actual results collected from an installed 2.5 MW solar plant at a cement factory in Fateh Jang (Zone-B), shows that actual plant performance is closely matched with simulation results. This study provides guidelines for researchers and policymakers to identify acceptable location-based PV technologies for the industrial sector.